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Walang Natira Gloc-9
from LUNDAG
Feat.ShengBelmonte
Pinoy Rapper
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Lundag: Creative Magazine
Art plays many roles depending on various intervening factors that account for an artist's intention, subtext, and expression. In the Philippines, art has been used to instill national consciousness, which has been key in a variant of Filipino art that focuses on protest and covert resistance against social institutions, among others (see Mateo, 2016) However, the context where art appears to be a form of protest is contingent on the ubiquity of social injustice At present, with a slight conservative backsliding in the country, where a portion of the Filipino population is progressive and liberal, it is worth noting that art is also used to show support (e.g., Tarantadong Kalbo's Tumindig artwork).
Unfortunately, subgroups operating within the progressive Filipino fraction are niche (Rocamora, 1993) In fact, we stipulate that most art forms in the modern Philippines are all anchored on two social facets (a) capitalism and (b) neoliberalism. More specifically, the continuous commodification of art underscores the current capitalistic system that focuses on the monetary value of art and its distribution amongst audiences (Bryant, 2019) For example, Richard Gomez's artwork embodies this capitalistic nature, where simple line work is sold for heinous prices Among many themes, neoliberalism art styles are the most commonly commodified, including songs that allude to the importance of worklife balance, premised on the busy and fast life within Filipino society (e.g., SB19's Gento).
Taken together, it is clear that the changes in Philippine society correspond to the changes in art (i e , focus and subtext) and vice versa On the one hand, they can represent progressive ideations like protest and support. On the other hand, they can also represent normative cultures and expectations. It is worth noting that the correspondence of art with society is interwoven with the latter's oscillations; to this end, art can simultaneously exist as normative and emancipatory
