"Recognizing the Impoverished through Contemporary Arts"

Poverty During the Pandemic

        Poverty has always been a problem in the Philippines even before the pandemic struck. And now as the virus spreads across each region in the country, the situation of the impoverished sector is now worsened. Throughout the crisis, more and more people are now rallying for help and begging for alms in the street. As small enterprises and businesses have closed to prevent the spread of the virus, the poor have also lost their only source of livelihood. Reality has already made it harsh for these people to make a living and the pandemic has made it worse. This leads us to the question, "What can we do in order to change their situation for the better?"

Advocating the Needs of the Poor through Art

        Art has always been a medium in promoting social awareness, most especially in the different societal issues that we face day-to-day. In these trying times during the pandemic, contemporary art has become a way to express both the opinion and thoughts of the people. One such art would be the work of John A. Dinglasa, "Demands of Life". Before we talk about his art, getting to know the artist is necessary.

John A. Dinglasa

     John A. Dinglasa is a self-taught painter from Region VII. A local of Samboan, Cebu, he is also an active member of Cebu Artists. He is described as having a soft-spoken nature which helped him develop connections with the other senior artists in Cebu which, later on, led him to explore more opportunities in the art industry which contributed to his development as a contemporary artist.

    Dinglasa was not born into a typically rich family and is socially aware of the different issues present in his community. This became part of the reason why he paints with the feelings that he perceives while interpreting the common scenes in his community. His method or way of making his art does not focus on the minute and tiny details, instead, he makes use of  bold strokes with his brush using either cool or warm colors to create the desired effects intended for his pieces. He prefers using oil for his paintings but he has also explored using acrylic and pen and ink.

"Demands of Life"

        Living in a 5th class municipality, it is not new for Dinglasa to see low-class citizens doing hardwork for a living. The essence of that scenario is captured in his painting "Demands of Life". At first glance, we can clearly say that the focus of the painting is an old man tilling the soil with his bolo while smoking a cigarette, this is a typical scene in rural and impoverished areas such as barrios where people rely mostly on hard-work to do a living. Dinglasa’s use of ink and pen in creating the painting gave a monochrome or somewhat grayscale effect, the shades of gray deeply emphasize the tedious work poor people must go through in order to sustain their everyday needs. His technique in using unpolished sketches and heavy contrasts also added a bit of ‘roughness’ in the overall effect of the painting to the eyes, further highlighting the main idea of the painting.

            “Demands of Life” is a statement by itself. Dinglasa created the piece with an intent to communicate the hardships that the poor are currently facing just to go about their everyday lives, especially now during the pandemic. By using the scene that he personally saw in his community, he effectively portrayed the general situation of people suffering from poverty. In its simplicity in showing the craggy life of a poor old man, the painting gives a straight-up message to the audience to become more aware and take action to either help or recognize the needs of the poorer sectors in our society.