Many in the art community and general public mourned the passing on Tuesday of performance artist, history advocate, and cultural gadfly Carlos Celdran, who in his short but eventful and productive life helped bring matters of societal import to the forefront of public discourse.
He is best known for his 2010 ‘Damaso’ stunt, where he wore 19th century clothing, complete with bowler hat in reference to national hero Jose Rizal, and stood in the middle of a Mass attended by high-ranking clergy at the Manila Cathedral holding up a placard bearing the word ‘Damaso.’
The word refers to the abusive priest in Rizal’s novel ‘Noli Me Tangere’ and is shorthand for the excesses of friars that characterized the Spanish colonial period in the Philippines.
In a 2019 documentary by Sienna Hagedorn, Alexandra Gordon, and Katharine LoScalzo, Celdran said the message he wanted to send the bishops was “Stop getting involved in politics.” At the time, then-President Noynoy Aquino was pushing for the passage of the reproductive health bill but it was being blocked by efforts of the Catholic Church in the Philippines, which is against contraception for religious reasons.
Celdran was sued by lay Catholics under a blasphemy law against “offending religious feelings” (Art. 133 of the Revised Penal Code). After years of litigation, Celdran was sentenced to one year, one month, and 11 days in prison. He fled to Madrid, into “exile” as he put it.
In the short documentary, Celdran looks at the impact on society of his Damaso stunt. “It mobilized the Philippines… that image of me holding the ‘Damaso’ and the hat became a symbol of the reproductive health movement. And that symbol, I guess, catapulted the RH bill into national consciousness.”
He adds, “Four years later, the RH bill passed. But the downside of this is that I have to go to jail.”
Celdran said that the law he was charged under is an “archaic code” that dates back “to the Spanish era.” Which brings to mind the question, will that same law be called into play in the future to silence other critical voices? Or was Celdran’s case a one-of?
Many critics of Celdran comment that he shouldn’t have gone inside the church. That was disrespectful. He could have done his demonstration outside, but, admittedly, it would not have had the same shocking impact.
However, the said law is too strict. Really, a year in our notorious hellholes of prisons for a prank? Where is any sense of justice and proportion here?
Before Celdran left for Madrid early this year, he visited the National Museum and viewed the exhibit of ‘HoCus’ paintings, works envisioned by lawyer-historian Saul Hofileña Jr. and executed by painter Guy Custodio.
In September last year, Celdran posted on Instagram a photo of HoCus’s “La Pesadilla” (The Nightmare) with the following caption: “One of the most beautiful paintings I’ve seen in a while. Heironymus Bosch meets Brenda Fajardo with a bit of Jojo Legaspi thrown in. Hidden away in a remote area of the National Museum. Love it.”
“La Pesadilla” is massive, an oil on canvas triptych 4 feet by 11 feet that “depicts Good and Evil locked in a fierce battle for hegemony over the Earth and its creatures,” as Hofileña writes in a book that accompanies the artworks from the HoCus I series.
Among the villains of the piece are a “demented friar” and a rapacious member of the principalia. Skeletons and zombies abound, a straightforward device to present the terrors that marked the age. The work is a savage indictment of the abuses committed during the Spanish colonial period and a polemic in images about the long-term consequences of colonialism on our country and its people.
Hofileña’s visions are a reminder of the Church’s power over the country’s fate in the past, while Celdran, in ‘Damaso,’ pointed to same institution’s encompassing and continuing influence over the country’s politics.
Will the blasphemy law be invoked again? Will the focus now be on HoCus? Will artists have to pull their punches so as not to be charged under this law?
It is true Celdran disrupted a religious ceremony, but aren’t there other laws that penalize such behavior? Weaponizing an ancient law against “offending religious feelings” is a reminder that the Church is still a significant force in this country, separation of Church and State regardless.
It is sad to think of Celdran spending his last days far from home. He died too young; the loss of the art and contributions to society that he could still have made is incalculable.
In a 2013 television interview with Mel Tiangco, Celdran said, “I really believe arts and culture is [sic] the best way to change society.” No better epitaph can be found for this cultural activist, artist, and Filipino.
“It is a useless life that is not consecrated to a great ideal.” ~ Jose Rizal /FB and Twitter: @DrJennyO
