Aug

12

Why Carlo J. Caparas is NOT a Visual Artist

Filed Under Philippine Comics | 50 Comments

There is a seemingly serious point of view expressed by a few people that Carlo J. Caparas is a visual artist because he “directs” and “guides” an artist on what to draw.

My initial reaction was to laugh because to me it’s a ridiculous notion. I’ve had a few discussions with it with readers of my blog (hello Rod!), but I heard the same thoughts from one or two other people afterwards and I realize this is a subject that needs to be addressed seriously.

An analogy has been made to Architects who do not build the structures themselves, and only guides the construction workers. And yet it is the Architects who get recognized and win awards. How is it different from comics writers who guide the artists?

Fair enough.

I do not agree that by simply giving written instructions to an artist, that makes the writer a visual artist.

Here are my reasons why.

I’m an Architect by profession, a licensed one. I designed houses and restaurants. I did not build these things myself. An army of construction workers did.

But there is a world of difference here. As an Architect, I’ve had to make very detailed plans, all very carefully and exactly measured and counted right down to the last bolt. The workers who built that house had no room for interpretation. It’s not like I just wrote down a description of the house and let the workers just do their own thing and add things and change things here and there. They cannot do anything that’s not in the plans I give them.

Making specific design plans cannot be equated with writing a comics script, unless that script came with plans that has detailed and exact measurements of every panel, and detailed and exact measurements of height, width, curvature, circumference, radius, length of every single line, dot, circle and curve, so much so that the illustrator has no room for interpretation. The artist becomes merely a draftsman, like an architectural, or engineering draftsman, who does not put any effort at all in designing that page.

But that is a scenario that is not just possible. The description of one panel alone would take pages and pages of technical descriptions. Not even Alan Moore, the master of detailed scripts, can make such detailed script.

But just for argument’s sake, just what does Carlo J. Caparas’s scripts look like? Is it descriptive enough to free the illustrator from interpretation?

A former editor of Carlo has chimed in the comments section, and gave us a sample of how a typical Carlo J. Caparas reads:

Frame 1. Same scene of last frame of previous chapter.
Frame 2. Same scene pa rin, nag-uusap.
Frame 3. Bahala ka na.
Frame 4. Bahala ka na.
Frame 5. Nagsuntukan.
Frame 6. Change angle.
Frame 7. Your angle.
Frame 8. Bahala ka na.
ad infinitum na ‘bahala ka na.’

If the whole chapter showed the two main protagonists in one setting and JUST talking, the guides to illustration would be ‘change angle, your angle, bahala ka na’ with the idea that the illustrator would pick up the mood of the characters as per dialogues, or be “guided” by the caption, if any.

For sure, there were 1-3 lines of guide to the illustrator, perhaps more when the scene called for more. Pero after that, puro ‘bahala ka na.’

Well, some visual artist!

Another thing to consider:

In the recent komiks from Sterling, in the stories written by Carlo, why does Gagambino look different from Kroko? Why does Totoy Bato look different from Beauty Queen? If CJC is a visual artist because he “guides” the artist, the same way an architect “guides” the construction workers, Kroko, Gagambino, Totoy Bato and Beauty Queen would have the same identical look, style, and visual panache.

And yet they look vastly different.

Clearly, Carlo is not in control of the visual look of the comic book page. The control lies with the illustrator.

A visual artist, specially one that has become widely known and acclaimed as a visual artist, is always known to exhibit a particular and unique style. Architects have their own unique styles, as do sculptors and painters and illustrators. If CJC is a visual artist that’s worthy of acclaim, isn’t it curious that he does not have a unique visual style where one can point to and say, “Ah, that is a Caparas visual art.” Because to be quite honest, there’s nothing to point to.

If a book on the visual art of Carlo J. Caparas is put together called “The Visual Art of Carlo J. Caparas”, what will that book contain?

It will contain the work of Steve Gan, Nestor Malgapo, Alex Niño, Mar Santana, Abe Ocampo, Tor Infante, Karl Comendador, Hal Santiago, Jun Borillo, Rudy Villanueva, Joey Celerio, Dell Barras, Lan Medina, Romeo Tanghal and many more other artists.

Certainly, Carlo Caparas can lift a pencil and make lines on paper and call it DRAWING. He’s had to go on TV and demonstrate that. Isn’t it ridiculous that a supposed National Artist has to go on TV to prove that he can draw? Regardless, it is the “Body of Work” that is important when it comes to being a National Artist. And Carlo’s body of comics work shows that he has NEVER illustrated any of the stories he became popular for.

Comments

50 Responses to “Why Carlo J. Caparas is NOT a Visual Artist”

  1. Jun Pamintuan on August 12th, 2009 11:53 pm

    The thing with drawing and sketching in comics is this. If you did not take part in the actual drawing / sketching process, i.e. you are not the one who drew or the one who illustrated the piece, then you are not the visual artist for that piece. Simple as that.

    Take this as an example. I take my blank cover comic to Gerry, I ask Gerry to do a sketch for me, I want a Hulk lying down on his back while the Punisher stands on top of him pointing a gun on his chest, I want buildings in the background, etc etc. Gerry finishes the piece and hands it over to me. So am I now qualified as a visual artist for the piece? Let’s say I do it again with Carlo Pagulayan, then Mico Suayan, then Harvey Tolibao..and so on and so forth. Do I get credited as a visual artist for those pieces? NO. Do people praise me for those artwork pieces? NO. Will people even say that I now qualify as a great visual artist because of those pieces? ONE BIG NO. The actual illustrators get the praise because really..I never took part in anything that involved the “ACTUAL DRAWING PROCESS”. I did not draw it, I did not illustrate it, I merely told the real visual artist what I wanted to happen and what I wanted it to look like. Same thing with CJC, if you count his work as a visual artist, then does that make me a visual artist as well even if I cannot draw and did not draw the sketches that I now hold in my hands? Heck even a 7 year old kid who asks an actual illustrator to make him a drawing will now be counted as being a visual artist? NOPE. That is not how it works.

  2. Gerry Alanguilan on August 13th, 2009 12:36 am

    You bring up an interesting point Jun, a point that’s so obvious that it didn’t really occur to me until you said it. And you’re right. A guy who commissions artwork from me, no matter who detailed his description of what he wants, doesn’t make him the visual artist. It’s still me.

  3. Carlo P on August 13th, 2009 3:37 am

    LOL, I just remembered the humongous debate on Jay’s Multiply, I just gave up out of annoyance when they started throwing that argument.

    Ginamit pang example yung situation ni Abueva and his apprentices… I wanted to reply na does his apprentice take home the sculptures or not? Surely Abueva wouldn’t allow the final piece to stray from his vision, kung kaya’t siguradong supervised ang apprentice. Same thing with architects, lalo na at buhay ng gagamit ng building ang nakataya

    Kasi yun ang kaso sa comic book illustrators. The script will be subject to an artists interpretation and understanding of what the writer is trying to say.

    Sadly some people believe that argument because they’re too “subjective”(ayaw mo man maging bastos, pero nakakatawa din). Di na ako nag aksaya ng panahon kasi di matatapos ang debate

    CJC is definitely no Alan Moore

    Actually nito ko lang nalaman na sobra pala talaga si Alan Moore; 100+page script for a 22 page comic book… frak

  4. Pinoy Comics USA on August 13th, 2009 4:39 am

    Gerry,
    Hahaha, tina-target mo yata ako, a.

    I really didn’t want to delve deeper into this for certain reasons: one, you and I are in general agreement that Caparas absolutely does not merit the NA title, and two, my mindset goes beyond another plane than that of comics illustration, and my reasons may not apply to comics. Still we’re talking about visual arts and artists in general, so here goes:

    Sometime in the 60s, Cid Reyes, one of the top art critics in the Philippines (with books on Bencab, Malang, Arturo Luz, etc) and a painter and artist in his own right needed to exhibit his work in Manila, but he was at that time based in London and could not leave for some reason. Instead he sent written instructions to the gallery, who built the piece based on his instructions. The subject was touched by me in his book, Conversations in Philippine Art (published by CCP, 1989), to wit:

    (CR is Cid Reyes, RS, myself)
    CR: How do you feel about the mechanical quality, about art based on a blue-print – as contrasted to a more romantic, traditional way of painting with canvas, easel, brush, palette knife, et cetera?

    RS: Duchamp’s decision that art must be a matter of choice has left this field wide open. Certainly your own art by mailed instruction, or Luz’s sculpture done by his carpenters, is a manifestation of this new freedom. If an artist can achieve the same ends without having to be involved with medium itself, why not do it. If I can find a craftsman who’ll be able to do exactly what I want, then I’ll let him do it.

    In my answer I touched on the sculpture of Arturo Luz, now a National Artist for Visual Arts. Much of Arturo Luz’s sculptures, if not all of them were done by craftspeople based on his instructions and supervision. The instructions didn’t need to be as detailed as architectural plans I would surmised.

    In Minimalist Art, one of the top practitioner, Carl Andre, who’s work was purchased (for thousands of dollars) by the British Museum, did not even go there to personally supervised the installation. He sent the Museum a number of steel plates (his work are characterizes by placing bricks, cement blocks, copper plates, etc., modularly on the floor), and sent them specific instructions on exactly how to place the steel plates on the floor of the museum.

    In the world of Advertising, many Art Directors and Graphic Designers don’t know how to draw, but do have knowledge of type, layout and great visuals. The best advertising art are attributed to the Art Directors not to the artists who put the ad together.

    Let me invoke the ghost of Marcel Duchamp, possibly the greatest artist in the second-half of the last century when he said: Art is what the artist decides is art. Based on this statement he exhibited works called ReadyMades, wherein he picked up existing objects such as a urinal, signed it and exhibited them as his art.
    His work and his ideas were the basis of new concepts in art particularly in New York – Minimalism, Conceptual Art, Pop Art, Earth Art etc. came to the fore. Corollary to this was a statement by one of New York’s greatest art critic when he said: “A stretched or tacked-up canvas is already a work of art, though not necessarily a successful one.”

    In closing, let me quote again from the book by Cid Reyes, Conversations in Philippine Art:

    CR: What kind of art were you attracted to as a student?

    RS: Art to me then was comic-book illustration. My ambition was to be a famous illustrator like my idol then, Francisco V. Coching. I think to a certain extent this was an important phase in my development as an artist. It helped develop my powers of perception as well as manual dexterity with brush and pencil.

    Francisco V. Coching is a National Artist.
    Rod

  5. Kapre on August 13th, 2009 6:03 am

    Kung hindi ako nagkakamali ang napanalunan ni Caparas bilang NATIONAL ARTIST ay sa VISUAL ARTS & FILMS.

    Ang COMICS ay isa sa mga VISUAL ARTS, di ba? Pero karamihan sa nakikita ko sa mga comics ngayon ay mga DRAWINGS ito ng mga artists at ang nakasulat na mga CAPTIONS at DIALOGUES ay gawa naman ng mga writers. Intonces, ang COMICS bilang isa sa mga VISUAL ARTS ay binubuo ng mga 2D na DRAWINGS na hindi gumagalaw na gawa ng mga artists at mga STORIES na gawa naman ng mga writers.

    Ang tanong ay ito, pangkalahatan, meron bang mga comics ngayon na puro drawings lang at walang story, captions at dialogues? Ulitin, pangkalahatan, ang sagot ay WALA! Samakatuwid, ang DRAWINGS at STORIES ng COMICS ay parang mag-asawa ito na NAGKAKA-ISA sila na hindi puwedeng paghiwalayin. Ngayon, pangkalahatan uli, kung mga DRAWINGS lang at walang STORY ay COMICS ba ito? Hindi ito comics, di ba? Sa puntong ito bilang writer ay may karapatan si Caparas sa larangan ng COMICS na isa sa mga VISUAL ARTS.

    Ang FILMS naman ay binubuo ito ng maraming bagay, and dalawa sa mga ito ay ang STORIES at 3D na mga FIGURA na gumagalaw. Ang tanong uli ay ito, pangkalahatan, meron na ba kayong nakikita na mga films ngayon na walang DIALOGUE at STORY na sinulat ng isang WRITER? Pangkalahatan, masasabi ba na meron FILM kung wala itong DIALOGUE 0 STORY? Maski na nga iyong mga lumang films nuon ni Charlie Chaplin at iba pa ay meron STORIES at DIALOGUES ito na sinulat ng mga WRITERS. Samakatuwid, ang STORIES at FIGURANG gumagalaw sa FILMS ay hindi rin puwedeng paghiwalayin dahil para rin mag-asawa ang dalawang ito. At sa puntong ito bilang writer sa FILMS ay may karapatan rin si Caparas.

    Sa LEGAL at TECHNICAL na mga punto sa itaas ay pasok si Caparas at may karapatan na maging NATIONAL ARTIST ng Pilipinas. Kung kokontrahin ninyo siya sa award niya ay duon sa dalawang mga punto na ipinaliwanag ko na sa itaas siya inyong punteryahin. Pero, ulitin ko, nasa panig ni Caparas ang LEGAL at TECHNICAL na mga punto na nabanggit ko kaya mahirap ninyong buwagin ito sa pamamagitan ng mga PAIKOT-IKOT NA MGA KATUWIRAN. Sa HULI ay para bagang kumuha kayo ng mga MASO at hinahataw lang ninyo ang mga sarili ninyong mga TUKTOK.

    Huwag ninyong kalimutan, hinataw na ninyo ang mga puti ng MASO pero ang tinamaan ay si Panaligan at ang nasaktan pangkalahatan ay mga dibuhistang pilipino.

  6. Gerry Alanguilan on August 13th, 2009 7:39 am

    Mr. Floro Dery, hindi po ako sang ayon sa inyo sa kadahilanang inyo na ring binanggit: hindi maaring paghiwalayin ang STORIES at DRAWING sa comics. Hindi po pwedeng parangalan si Carlo kung hindi pararangalan ang mga artist na lumikha ng mga comics na ito. Hindi po ba logical lang.

    Ang totoo nito ay walang kategorya na pwedeng pumasok si Carlo, o kahit sinong writer sa komiks sa kasalukuyang guidelines ng NCCA, kung LEGAL po pag uusapan. Para pong reverse loophole. Sub category man ang “Comics” sa “Visual Arts”, wala pong “Writing” na sakop sa description ng Visual Arts. Ito po:

    “Visual Arts – painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, installation art, mixed media works, illustration, graphic arts, performance art and/or imaging”

    At dahil hindi po talaga pwedeng paghiwalayin ang DRAWING sa STORY, malamang hindi rin po sakop ang basta illustrator lang. For example si Steve Gan o kahit na po sina Nestor Redondo at Alex Niño. Pero at least sila, mga visual artist talaga.

    Mas bagay po dito ang mga manlilikha natin na nagsusulat at gumuguhit din, tulad ni FV Coching, at ni Larry Alcala.

    Hindi ko po kino-contest kung pasok si Carlo sa Film. Pasok sya. Ang kino-contest ng ibang tao dito ay ang kalidad ng gawa nya. Hinahayaan ko na lang po ang mga mas may alam sa FILM ang tumukoy nito. Tulad ng review ng isang film critic na ito ng isang pelikula ni Carlo:
    http://criticafterdark.blogspot.com/2009/08/carlos-j-caparas-national-artist.html
    Ang tanong ng marami pagkatapos basahin yan… ITO ang National Artist?

    Dapat lang pong tamaan ng maso ang lahat ng hindi gumagawa ng tama. Nasaktan ang dibuhistang Pilipino noon dahil may nangopya, hindi po dahil pinuna ang nangopya.

    Ngayon, nasasaktan ang mga dibuhistang Pilipino dahil ang karangalang dapat sa DIBUHISTA ay INAGAW ng manunulat. Ang ginagawa lang po namin ay punahin ito, sapagkat ito ay malaking insulto sa lahat ng dibuhistang Pilipino, kasama na rin po kayo.

    Sa kahit anong bagay mas masasaktan tayo kung hindi natin pupunahin ang mga kabulastugang nangyayari sa paligid natin at tatahimik na lamang tayo na parang tupang bulag pipi at bingi.

  7. Gerry Alanguilan on August 13th, 2009 7:43 am

    No Rod, I didn’t target you. Like I said, there were other people who raised the same issue, including other creators in the industry. I felt I had to take the discussion out of the comments and into a its own topic in case there were those following this issue who don’t read the comments.

  8. Kapre on August 13th, 2009 9:20 am

    Gerry,

    NAPAKALAWAK ng kategoreya ng VISUAL ARTS & FILMS kung saan nanalo si Caparas bilang NATIONAL ARTISTS, sa LAWAK nito ay puwedeng pumasok at manalo rin ang WRITERS, ILLUSTRATORS, CARTOONISTS, DIRECTORS, ACTORS, o CAMERAMEN, etc.

    Ang VISUAL ARTS & FILMS ay parang MALAWAK NA DAGAT na kung saan meron mga ISDA, ALIMASAG, HIPON, KABIBI, etc. Ang ISDA ay puwedeng kunwari maging NATIONAL ARTIST, puwede rin ang ALIMASAG, etc. Sabihin natin na si Caparas ay ALIMASAG na nanalo bilang NATIONAL ARTIST. Maliwanag na ba?

    Ang problema sa kategoreyang VISUAL ARTS & FILMS ay ang LAWAK ng sakop nito, dapat hatiin ito sa iba’t-ibang mga specipikong mga kategoreya. Halimbawa sa komiks ay gawin ito sa mga kategoreyang VISUAL SA KOMIKS, STORY SA KOMIKS, KARTOONISTA, etc. Tiyak na hindi puwede si Caparas sa VISUAL SA KOMIKS pero pasok siya sa STORY SA KOMIKS. Maliwanag na ba?

    Ang MALI ng mga kumukontra kay Caparas ay dahil nga ang tingin nila sa MALAWAK NA DAGAT ay MAKITID ito. Dito sa LEGAL at TECHNICAL na LAWAK ng DAGAT ay NADALE at NAMASO sila ni Caparas. Kung baga sa korte, LEGAL at TECHNICAL na naisahan sila ni CAPARAS, HHHHHHH ……. O kung kriminal kunwari si Caparas ay nakalusot ito at pinakawalan para maging NATIONAL ARTIST dahil inocenti raw ito na sanhi ng LEGAL at TECHNICAL na KABULASTOGAN LAWAK na SAKOP ng VISUAL ARTS & FILMS. Maliwanag na ba?

    Solusyon, mag-lobby kayo para i-define mabuti ang VISUAL ARTS & FILMS, hatiin ito sa dalawa at i-define rin mabuti kung sino ang mga taong dapat lang pumasok dito para hindi na maulit na meron mga kagaya ni Caparas na makapasok pa uli. Sa ngayon, ay wala na kayong magagawa kay Caparas, LEGAL at TECHNICAL ang pagkapanalo niya bilang NATIONAL ARTIST ng Pilipinas, karapatdapat man siya o hindi ay IRRELEVANT na ito.

  9. gilbert monsanto on August 13th, 2009 9:42 am

    Kung magasawa ang SULAT at DIBUHO sa komiks. Kung nangangaliwa ba ang asawang si SULAT ay samakatuwid na nangagaliwa na rin si DIBUHO????

    Kahit ang magasawa ay may kanya kanyang identity. Ang isa ay maaaring matalino at ang isa ay maganda.

    Kaya para sa akin. Magkahiwalay ang sulat at dibuho sa komiks.

    Nagsusulat ako at nagdodraw din ng aking sariling kwento, pinaghihiwalay ko pa rin ang dalawa bago ko ipagsama sa final look.

    At minsan naman nagsusulat ako para sa ibang artist. Alam ko na ang interpretasyon nila sa sulat ko ay maiiba sa imagination ko, o kung ako mismo ang magdodrawing nito.

    So maaari pong paghiwalayin ang images at text sa komiks.

    At ang letra, ay ginagawa ng letratista, ibig sabihin ba sila ang writer????

  10. Gerry Alanguilan on August 13th, 2009 10:13 am

    Sir Dery, ang kategorya po ng FILM at VISUAL ART ay hiwalay sa National Artist Awards. Obvious na po siguro kung ano ang sakop sa Film. Kaya ang Visual Art ay para sa mga gawa lamang ni Carlo sa komiks.

    Malawak po talaga ang sakop ng Visual arts. Ngunit ang guidelines ng NCCA ay specific po kung ano ang sakop nito. Hindi po ba dun lang sa huli kong reply sa inyo nilista ko na mismo ang mga specific na sakop ng “Visual Arts”? Uulitin ko po:

    ““Visual Arts – painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, installation art, mixed media works, illustration, graphic arts, performance art and/or imaging”

    Sa akin po maliwanag na walang papasukan ang comics writing. Unfortunate po, kasi maaring sina Mars Ravelo, Pablo Gomez, Tony Velasquez, at iba pang magagaling na manunulat natin ay hindi pwedeng maging National Artist.

    Kakulangan po talaga ng guidelines ng National Artist Award kung bakit wala silang puwang para sa mga komiks writers na manalo ng hiwalay sa mg dibuhusta.

    Sa tingin ko po dala na rin po ito ng pangkalahatang mababang tingin ng mga Pilipino, kahit ang mga alagad ng sining, sa komiks. Malalim pa po talaga ang prejudice sa komiks as an artform sa bansa na ito, at nag re-reflect ito sa guidelines ng National Artist awards.

    Dapat talaga pong ayusin ang guideliness ng award na ito para hindi magkaroon ng lukot na ganito. Sa punto pong ganun agree tayo.

  11. GabbyD on August 13th, 2009 11:54 am

    @gerry

    what about Phil Comic’s examples of Ad agency director, vs the graphic designer?

    is the graphic designer NOT free to contribute creatively?

  12. Philip Tan on August 13th, 2009 12:02 pm

    Holy scraps…. halfway lang nalasing na ako sa kababasa….

    “.. bahala ka na “????????? ….. sums it up for me… I shouldn’t have read further….

  13. MzJosephine on August 13th, 2009 12:27 pm

    I’d like to mention something trivial, i.e. not as profound as the ongoing informative exchange.

    “CJC is definitely no Alan Moore

    Actually nito ko lang nalaman na sobra pala talaga si Alan Moore; 100+page script for a 22 page comic book…”

    The non-visual artist wrote a 4-5-pp komiks in 2-pp script, long bond. Minsan, umaabot din ng 3-pp ang script niya pero not very often.

  14. Gerry Alanguilan on August 13th, 2009 12:33 pm

    I’m not familiar with the Ad Agency world, Gabby. But I believe such things were tackled in the Intellectual Property Code where an artist can give up authorship of his creations under certain circumstances.

  15. auggie on August 13th, 2009 1:17 pm

    You are right Gerry. Mi faction diyan sa Selection committee na very conservative/traditional ang views at ayaw nila sa mga Komikeros,tingin nila low-brow at hindi Fine Arts. Kaya forever shut-out sa nominations sila Coching et al. Nagulat na lang sila at binulaga sila ni Carlo, their worst NIGHTMARE, LOL !

  16. auggie on August 13th, 2009 2:06 pm

    Rod,

    Yung example mo tungkol kila Marcel Duchamp, eh OK yun in the universe of FINE ARTS. Ginagawa din dito iyan, example yung mga gigantic metal sculptures ni Castrillo ( utol ng Komikero na si Madz), at certainly, hindi siya ang gumagawa ng dirty work, kundi nag-ha-ha-hire siya ng mga blue-collar workers na siyang humuhinang ,pumupukpok at nagkikinis ng metal. Pero ang credit syempre at artist eh si Castrillo. Yung gigantic metal sculpture din ni Picasso doon sa Chicago, eh ganoon din ang kaso.

    Sa universe naman ng APPLIED ARTS ( Architecture, Graphic Design, etc), eh OK din yung credits eh sa Art Director/ Creative Director mapunta dahil ang concept at innovation/creative idea eh galing sa kanila. Ang labas ng artist/illustrator dito eh craftsman , dahil taga-final siya ng idea noong Art/Creative director. Similar din ito sa AV-Producer/Visualizer na nag susupervise doon sa mga Scientific Illustrators/Photographer.

    Ang nakikita kung problema doon sa mga criteria ng CPP-NCCA, eh hindi nila ma- delineate ang difference ng FINE ARTS sa APPLIED ARTS, kaya nagka-ka-gulo. Ayaw ng mga FINE ARTISTS na ma-identify sila doon sa mga Komikeros dahil low-brow daw. Actually, hindi nila alam , eh ibang category dapat yun sa APPLIED ARTS, kaya pasok dapat ang mga Komikeros doon, Fashion Designers etc. Gawan dapat ng bagong category ang APPLIED ARTS.

    Parang sa mundo ng Scientific Community ba. Sa Scientific Research mi dalawang aspect. BASIC RESEARCH, at APPLIED RESEARCH. Yung una ang usually, nakakatuklas ng mga breakthroughs sa sciences, at usually, yun ang nanalo ng mga NOBEL PRIZE. Wala pang applications ang basic research, pero pag-ginamit na ang findings doon, at gagamitin sa actual application for a very specified research/field/commodity, eh nagiging APPLIED RESEARCH na yun. Example: yung mga theories ni Einstein sa Quantum Physics was generated thru Basic Research. Nang ginamit ang mga theories doon for a very specific commodity ( THE ATOMIC BOMB), naging APPLIED RESEARCH na iyun.

    Sa field ng ARTS, dapat ganoon din. Kaya magkakaroon na rin ng PEER REVIEW, gaya ng ginagawa ng mga SCIENTISTS. Sila ang humuhusga sa kapwa scientist/researcher kung kabalbalan ba ang mga ginagawa nito o hindi. Ang medium ng pag-husga eh sa mga PEER REVIEWED JOURNALS lumalabas, at doon mo makikita kung mi hoax o wala ang ginawa ng kapareho nilang scientist /researcher

    Malayo pa tayo sa ganito, pero dapat simulan na.

  17. Jun Pamintuan on August 13th, 2009 5:01 pm

    “Ang COMICS ay isa sa mga VISUAL ARTS, di ba?”

    - my personal opinion is this:
    No, a comic is a collaboration mainly of both a story and a visual art (WITH or WITHOUT dialogue, captions, words). Basically it is like this (STORY+VISUAL ART=COMICS). A visual art is a plain visual art without the story/script. A story is a plain story without the VISUALS. Combine them and you have a comic. The writer takes credit for his/her written work, the visual artist takes credit for the visual art he/she made. Those are two different things. Hence there is a writer, hence there is a visual artist. Take a novel for example, find an illustrator to interpret it and poof a graphic novel is born. Take a plain script or story and combine it with the visual drawing of a visual artist and poof a comic.

    Stephen King’s Dark Tower (The Long Road Home) is a very clear example on how the artists works are broken down and how the credits for creating it are distributed:
    -it was basically a novel WRITTEN and CREATED by Stephen King. In collaboration with Marvel it has been made into “comic” form. King being the director, Robin Furth at plotting and consultation, Peter David at “SCRIPT”, Jae Lee and Isanove at “VISUAL ART”, and “LETTERING” by Eliopoulos. Now can we classify King as the Visual Artist here since he initially created the novel? or do we classify the script writer Peter David as the Visual Artist since he is running the scripts? How about the letterer since he is the one putting down the captions, words, and dialogues? NO. We do not classify them as such. Why call Jae Lee and Isanove as the Visual Artists of the comic in the credits in the first place when you will also classify King or David or Eli as Visual Artists? Clearly the Visual Art credit goes to Lee and Isanove.

    “Ang tanong ay ito, pangkalahatan, meron bang mga comics ngayon na puro drawings lang at walang story, captions at dialogues? Ulitin, pangkalahatan, ang sagot ay WALA!”

    - my personal opinion is:
    As Einstein suggested, it will only take one man to prove him false. In this case, we only need one published comic as an example. In comics, a story, plot, or even a whole script is being interpreted in collaboration with Visual Arts with or without dialogue, and YES, a story CAN be interpreted through Visual Art only even without dialogue or words. A comic is essentially a graphic medium in which images are utilized in order to convey a sequential narrative. I suggest people to take a very very good look at this comic issue as it is a VERY VERY good example:
    The Punisher Vol. 4 Number 7 February 2002
    It is under Marvel Knights
    Title: Nuff Said!
    by Steve Dillon and Jimmy Palmiotti
    -For those familiar with the issue, I think you have an idea on what I am trying to say here. From start to finish, you WILL NOT SEE any word balloons there, spoken dialogue, captions, subtitles, sound effects like a gun going “BAM” in the panels or a sound of someone walking, etc etc. But yes, THE STORY WAS VERY WELL DELIVERED THROUGH “VISUALS” ONLY. It is a clear example how a writer is separated from the visual artist in terms of credit. The writer writes, the visual artist interprets through visual means. Those are two separate things which make a comic possible.

    this came from MARVEL itself:
    Nuff Said!
    We Dared Them.
    That’s right, almost a year ago, Marvel Prez Bill Jemas and EIC Joe Quesada hatched a test for the Mighty Marvel Maestros: Since you are the best artists and writers in the biz, we challenge you to TELL A STORY USING VISUALS ONLY. After all, if a picture is worth a thousand words, then a comic book filled with IMAGES ONLY would be worth…well,more words than the Collector could count!

    And if you think creating a story with no words is half the work, think again True Believer! The writer has to craft a story using no dialogue or caption boxes to communicate information – and pencillers have to make sure their storytelling is so clear that TEXT ISN’T NEEDED TO EXPLAIN WHAT’S GOING ON.

    Just to show you how our Mighty Marvel Maestros met the challenge, and to give you a unique peek behind the curtain, here’s the plot to the very story you just read! Just compare it to the art and you’ll see how the dare was done.

    THE PUNISHER PLAN by Steve Dillon
    1-5 – to SPLASH
    6 – Boss escapes
    7-9 – in bar with Bozo
    10-11 – nearly getting blown up
    12-13 – killing Bozo
    14-15 – killing pusher – scaring kids
    16-18 – killing Boss
    19-22 – going home – end zoom

    In the end, CJC is still CLEARLY NOT A VISUAL ARTIST and he should never have gotten the title of National Artist for Visual Arts because HE IS NOT A VISUAL ARTIST and WAS NOT CAPABLE of interpreting the stories he made through VISUAL ART means. Other REAL VISUAL ARTISTS did it for his written works. As was said before and will be said again, a comic is a collaboration between a writer and a visual artist. Clearly, CJC is not the visual artist for his written works.

  18. Pilar on August 13th, 2009 5:30 pm

    I highly agree with you, Gerry. Even most Fine Arts student of UST agrees. Reading CJC’s script you just gave us right now really made me think that, he doesn’t REALLY deserve to have such award. I mean, man, it’s like he was telling the artist to think of something creative to make us go “WOW!” whenever we see the picture. (After all, a picture is worth a thousand words.)

    And reading some comments above, YES. It’s like a commission. Sure, the person who will commission will give details so that the artist will do it. After that, the person who commissioned the artist will give credit to the artist, even after the artwork is bought. Why? Because the artist worked so hard for it.

    “If a book on the visual art of Carlo J. Caparas is put together called “The Visual Art of Carlo J. Caparas”, what will that book contain?”

    Agreed with your answer. But if that would happen, the book would be entitled “The STORIES of Carlo J. Caparas” instead, haha.

    And trust me: Ask any artist you know, and they will say that CJC is not worthy for such award.

  19. johnbecaro on August 13th, 2009 5:58 pm

    carlo Caparas is not a visual artist in the sense that he only writes his creations and instruct the artists to visualize it for him. Even Elementary Students Can understand that.

    You can be a visual artist if you visualize a creative input from your mind or others.Caparas can be called creator and visionary But never a visual artist.There’s a difference Between
    Visions and Visuals, VISIONS can be subjective and it lingers in the mind or words which can be interpreted by different artist or people while VISUALS is clear output that conveys images benefitting a viewers perception of a certain vision.

    Sadly, Caparas is a cheap visionary since he always cheat by not recognizing or giving full credits in his collaborator artists and worst claiming all the glory for himself alone.

    There is a big difference on being a Writer/ Creator to being an Artist!

    COMMON SENSE…MAHIYA NAMAN KAYONG NANINIWALA NA SI CAPARAS AY PWEDENG MAGNATIONAL ARTIST FOR VISUAL ARTS NA HINDI NAMAN SIYA VISUAL ARTIST, ISA SIYANG WRITER.

    Kailangan pa ba pg usapan ang technicality? Malawak ba talaga ang usaping ito o sadyang
    pinalalawak ng iba para malusutan ang Kahindik
    hindik na KASINUNGALINGAN NA ITO? Ano ang ehemplo ang maibibigay natin sa susunod na henerasyon na alagad ng mga sining?

    WAG TAYO MAGPAKABULAG, DAHIL HINDI TAYO BULAG, WAG TAYO MAGPAKATANGA, DAHIL HINDI NAMAN TAYO TANGA.

    PAPAYAG BA TAYO SA GANITO?PAPAYAG BA TAYO NA ANG
    BUGOK NA ITLOG AY PWEDE PA MAGING SISIW? NA ANG
    ISDA AY PWEDE LUMIPAD KAHIT WALANG PAKPAK? NA ANG TAMA AY PWEDE PALANG MALI? NA LAHAT NALANG SA ATIN AY PEKE AT HUWAD?

  20. Carlo P on August 13th, 2009 8:10 pm

    Sana in the future the Titles could go like:

    Nat’l Artist for Literature (Comics)
    Nat’l Artist for Visual Arts (Comics)

    pwede naman e. Tanong na lang kung sino ang talagang pwede hehe

    Tabo at Timba for theatre arts…

  21. noli ramirez on August 13th, 2009 8:25 pm

    book on visual art by cjc maybe entitled “BAHALA KA NA”

  22. Gerry Alanguilan on August 13th, 2009 9:06 pm

    Awesome title, Noli!

  23. Eusebio Yu on August 13th, 2009 10:01 pm

    Stan Lee = Visual Artist? I think not.

  24. Pinoy Comics USA on August 13th, 2009 10:52 pm

    Auggie,
    Actually, in my comment, I was careful not to put any dividing line between Fine and Applied Art, because I am totally against putting a distinction between the two. Diyan yata nagsimula ang mga katagang “elitist” at “masa.” And yet the art world cannot help but think that way, and certainly the controlling organizations who are themselves elitist, are hesitant to choose anybody in a category not their own. That’s a good example of that distinction of “elitist” and “masa,” the Castrillo brothers. One (Ed) is a sculptor, who is considered to be in the fine arts category, the other (Madz) is a komiks illustrator. Both are visual artists. If both were nominated for the National Artist award, who would the art world’s controlling interest choose?
    Rod

  25. auggie on August 14th, 2009 12:47 am

    Rod,

    Your guess is as good as mine. Be that as it may, the GOLDEN RULE prevails. He who has the Gold, Makes the Rule. For centuries, talagang mi snob appeal ang FINE ARTS. Sa Research parang ganoon din, ang common perception eh mi snob appeal din ang BASIC RESEARCH, kaya nga umaani ito ng NOBEL PRIZES eh. But time changes. Baka ngayon na.

  26. khumpleetist on August 14th, 2009 2:33 am

    Gerry,

    I’m just waiting for your signal so that I could send my guidelines to you so that you could draw it. Some pages must be detailed but the other pages eh bahala ka na. Who knows? I might succeed CJC. Nyahahahaha!

    Poor SOB, he and his wife even admitted that it’ll take forever to finish all his written works if he was the artist. Surely, this is a simple means of admitting that he doesn’t deserve the award.

    Anyway, medyo napapahaba na ang reply na ‘to kay bahala ka na Gerry.

  27. GabbyD on August 14th, 2009 3:45 am

    @gerry, everyone

    another question…

    the exchange quoted in the blogpost suggests the illustrator of the comic has 100% final version control of the visual of the comic.

    is this true?

    suppose the artist submits a horrible stick figure drawing (kasi sabi ni CC bahala ka di ba?)

    would this pass muster? wouldn’t CC have it changed to fit his artistic criteria?

  28. Kapre on August 14th, 2009 6:53 am

    Gagamitin ko uli ang salitang PANGKALAHATAN o HINDI PARTIKULAR dahil meron sa inyo na naguguluhan sa salitang ito.

    PANGKALAHATAN, ang COMICS ay gawa ito ng ARTIST at WRITER. Dahil ang COMICS ay VISUAL ART kaya angkop rin na tawagin ang COMICS ARTIST dito na VISUAL ARTIST at angkop rin na tawagin dito ang COMICS WRITER na VISUAL WRITER.

    Nag-iikotan lang kayo sa salitang VISUAL, kaya puwede na mag-ikotan rin tayo sa mga salitang VISUAL ARTIST at VISUAL WRITER, HHHHHHH ……. Puwede ba ito? Natural, puwedeng puwede ito.

    Sa COMICS ang VISUAL WRITER ay sinusulat niya kung ano ang dapat na VISUAL DRAWINGS na lalabas, ang VISUAL ARTIST naman ay idinidibuho niya ang VISUAL DRAWINGS ayon sa interpretasyon niya na batay sa mga sinulat ng VISUAL WRITER.

    Papaano kung kagaya ni Caparas na sinasabi sa kanyang VISUAL ARTIST na BAHALA KA NA sa mga VISUAL DRAWINGS na gusto mo, VISUAL WRITER pa rin ba dito siya? Ang sagot ay sobra pa siya sa VISUAL WRITER, puwedeng sabihin na SUPER VISUAL WRITER siya dahil sa sinulat niyang BAHALA KA NA ay sinasakop na nito ang LAHAT ng VISUAL DRAWINGS na maisipan ng VISUAL ARTIST. Halimbawa, pag sinabi ni Caparas na BAHALA KA NA KUNG ANONG HAYOP ANG GUSTO MONG I-DRAWING. Ang VISUAL ARTIST ay puwede niyang I-DRAWING ang kalabaw, kabayo, lion, tigre, pusa o anumang hayop, sinasakop na nito ang lahat. Dito ay ipinakita ni Caparas ang kanyang pagiging HENYO bilang SUPER VISUAL ARTIST, HHHHHHH ……., sinakopna ng salita niya ang LAHAT. Naloloki na ba ang iba sa inyo?

    Dahil si Caparas ay SUPER VISUAL WRITER sa COMICS na VISUAL ART kaya pasok siya sa VIIIIISUUUAAAAAL!!!!!! Ayan, dahil sa VISUAL na terminology lang ay HULI na naman kayo ng SUPER VISUAL WRITER na si Caparas, hhhhhhh …….

    Ulitin, baka makalimutan ng iba sa inyo, si Caparas ay SUPER VISUAL WRITER sa COMICS na VISUAL ART. Samakatuwid, si Caparas ay nararapat na NATIONAL ARTIST sa VISUAL ARTS & FILMS, o dahil ang iba sa inyo ay gustong magpalusot kaya binabanggit lang ang VISUAL ARTS.

  29. Kapre on August 14th, 2009 7:05 am

    Seryoso na ito, walang biruan. Itong mga FINE ART ARTIST sa atin ay meron talaga itong pagka -elitista, akala nila ang gagaling nila sa paintings. Ang totoo ay wala akong nakitang magaling na mga pintor sa atin ngayon, ang pinakamagaling sa kanila ay mga AMATEURS lang sa tingin ko. PALPAK na ang mga paintings nila ay wala pa silang nalalaman sa anatomy, ang alam lang ay magpinta ng mga abstract paintings na kakalibre ng mga unggoy, hhhhhhh ……. Naku, hahabulin ako ng DOS-POR-DOS ng mga kumag na ito.

    Takot kasing makipagsabayan itong mga FINE ART ARTISTS sa mga COMICS ILLUSTRATORS dahil alam nilang ilalampaso silang lahat.

  30. Gerry Alanguilan on August 14th, 2009 7:42 am

    Gabby, I don’t think anyone has said the artist has 100% control of the visuals of the comic book. Definitely the visuals were illustrated according to what the writer wanted to happen on the page. Whether the character is sitting down or standing up depends on the writer.

    However, if you asked me to make you a drawing of Panday who was standing up and looking over a cliff at a sunset, I will draw that scene. And if you saw it and asked that Panday has his arms up in the air, I’ll revise the drawing and put Panday’s arms up in the air.

    The question here is… does that make YOU a visual artist?

    Lily, as always, check the guidelines of the NCCA on the National Artist awards. Because that will always be our basis for giving this award. And you will be surprised that age has nothing to do with it. And relevance to only TODAY has nothing to do with it. Against the guidelines, your argument doesn’t hold water, unfortunately.

  31. Eman on August 14th, 2009 8:50 am

    “…..Steve Gan, Nestor Malgapo, Alex Niño, Mar Santana, Abe Ocampo, Tor Infante, Karl Comendador, Hal Santiago, Jun Borillo, Rudy Villanueva, Joey Celerio, Dell Barras, Lan Medina, Romeo Tanghal and many more other artists…..”

    These names took me back to the days of my beinga newspaperboy,Liwayway was still thick and full of interesting articles and comic sections, and Panday is a must for reading.

    Oo nga, yung mga illustrator ang natatandaan ko, not the writer, kasi, may mga distinct style sila.CJC hasn’t got one. Parang mga movies nya, just a collection of scenes taken from other movies and comics, taken as “his angle”.

    If somebody should still think CJC belongs to Visual Art -

    “Bahala ka na”

  32. Lala Gallardo on August 14th, 2009 9:16 am

    Gerry, did you hear about Dr. Ramon Santos, the composer and music educator who was dropped from the list of awardees? He collapsed a few days ago. Heart attack or aneurysm ata.

  33. Carlo J. Caparas is a National Artist (Lord, Have Mercy!) : Komikero Comics Journal on August 14th, 2009 10:00 am

    [...] Why Carlo J. Caparas is NOT a Visual Artist [...]

  34. Gerry Alanguilan on August 14th, 2009 10:07 am

    Hello Lala.

    Yes, I did hear about a while back. I really feel sad about it, considering we all know what could have brought it on. I feel deep hatred for those who dropped his name from the list now.

  35. Jun Pamintuan on August 14th, 2009 10:58 am

    Sad to hear that, and yes, it was likely brought on by…you know…

  36. Jun Pamintuan on August 14th, 2009 11:19 am

    This will be a long one, but..for the sake of LOGICAL reasoning..again, I shall elaborate..

    A comic “is” mainly a collaboration between a writer/scribe and visual artist/illustrator. Hence you CANNOT give credit to a writer for the ARTWORK/VISUAL ART inside or outside of the comics, that credit goes to the visual artist/illustrator and the credit for the story goes to the writer. AGAIN, In the case of comics, a writer will get a different credit than that of the illustrator same as the inker gets his due credit, and the letterer, and so on. Why call a writer a writer when he is also counted as a visual artist/illustrator? Why not call all writers visual artists/illustrators then? Because not all of them draws their written works. Is Stan Lee counted as a Visual Artist? Last time I checked Stan was and still is a known writer and Steve Ditko was still a visual artist for their famous collaborations. How about Stephen King and his novels? Is he a visual artist now even if Peter David is the one running the scripts? What if Dark Tower and The Stand didn’t see print in comics? Is he still counted as a Visual Artist? Is Peter David a Visual Artist for running the Scripts in Dark Tower? No, King is still a writer and gets credit for his writing and not as a visual artist, comic or no comic. Same goes with Hamilton and Anita Blake. In comics, a writer can only be credited as a visual artist if the writer himself draws for his written works. Stan Lee gets credit for writing, and Ditko gets credit for drawing. Stan Lee can never get credit for the drawings that Ditko did. Now if let’s say, Stan Lee or Stephen King made a comic wherein one both writes and illustrates, then one can get credit both for being the work’s writer AND visual artist.

    How about this case now?
    Writer/Story: Gerry Alanguilan
    Painted Cover Art/Regular Cover: Alex Ross
    Variant Sketch Cover (Pencils only): John Romita Sr.
    Interior Art and Colors: David Finch (yeah I know he is not a known colorist, this is just an example for the sake of example)
    Inks: Edgar Tadeo

    Gerry instructs Alex Ross and John Romita Sr. on how he want the covers to look like, how many characters are in it, who is in it, positions, background, etc. Same with Finch.
    Now an example scenario is this:
    I am specifically a visual art enthusiast/fan.
    I do not care about the story, I never did, and I never do, I am only after the so called “visual art”.
    I do not care about scripts, story, whatever. I am only buying comics for the drawings/illustration.
    I buy the comics: the variant sketch cover and the painted cover/regular cover.
    Now who do I praise for the “VISUAL ARTS”? i.e. Who do I praise for The Cover Arts? Interior Arts? Master Inks? and so on.
    Gerry who wrote the story? Does Gerry also get credit for the PAINTED work that Alex Ross did? How about the VARIANT PENCIL SKETCH that John Romita Sr. did? Also the INTERIOR ART with COLORS from Finch? How about Ed’s Inks? Does Gerry the WRITER of the story now get credited and is now counted as a PAINTER, PENCILLER, ILLUSTRATOR, INKER, and COLORIST all in one since he gave the details on how they should look like? HELLO!? Of course NOT. Gerry will be credited as a writer of the story but he will not get credit whatsoever regarding the visual art part of the comic. As was said, a comic is a collaboration between STORY and VISUAL ART. Those two are different things. Now let’s think about this..if the writer was CJC and the rest of the comic creation team stays the same, do you think he can slam it to the face of Alex Ross, John Romita Sr., and Finch that he gets the credit for both Writing and Visual Arts? I’d very much like to see that happen. Really, I do want to see that happen.

    This is another good example:
    I have a Blank Cover Variant
    Writer/Story: Bendis
    Pencils: Leinil Yu
    Cover: blank, I decide to take it to Mr. Gilbert Monsanto and ask him nicely to do a sketch for me, instead of giving details, I tell him, “BAHALA KA NA”. I wait..and presto! it is done and the comic returns to my hands.
    Now the big question is this:
    Who gets the credit for the Cover Art?
    Bendis? He has nothing to do with it.
    Leinil Yu? Definitely not because he only did interior art, not the cover art.
    Me? According to some people’s reasoning, the credit goes to me because I was the one who instructed the visual artist to make me a “BAHALA KA NA” sketch. It will even make me a SUPER VISUAL ARTIST and a genius because of the “BAHALA KA NA” way of doing things. But of course NO. Why would I get credit for something I did not even take part of? A mere “BAHALA KA NA” will make me an instant Visual Artist? a Genius Super Visual Artist? CJC has done it, why can’t I right? OK!!! SUPERB!!! Why didn’t I think of that before? I only need to get over 800 “BAHALA KA NA” sketches from different visual artists and I will definitely and surely be named a National Artist for Visual Arts for my “superb” and “huge” contribution in comics. What more if I do over a thousand and distribute copies of it to the masses?! I’ll be a COMIC LEGEND and be remembered for my “BAHALA KA NA” sketches that came from different visual artists with different looks and different styles. Wait for me National Artist for Visual Arts! I’m coming for you.

    NOT!!! That is very irrational and illogical.

    In that scenario, the credit for the cover art clearly goes to Gilbert. Same as the credit for THE STORY goes to Bendis and the credit for Interior Art goes to Leinil Yu.

    Really, there is nothing much to talk about the issue other than the VERY CLEAR FACT THAT CJC IS NOT A VISUAL ARTIST and SHOULD NEVER GET CREDIT AS A VISUAL ARTIST for his works as HE ONLY GETS CREDIT AS A WRITER, NOT AS A VISUAL ARTIST. AGAIN..In comics, A WRITER IS NOT A VISUAL ARTIST and DOES NOT GET CREDITED as such UNLESS THE WRITER SPECIFICALLY DREW HIS WORKS. In CJC’s case? IT IS VERY CLEAR. Even a kid will know how to differentiate an apple from an orange even though both are under the same category i.e. both are fruits. Same as an elementary kid can differentiate a writer from an illustrator. A writer writes, an illustrator draws. SO SIMPLE..It is very clear. How hard is that to swallow?

    CJC IS NOT A VISUAL ARTIST, HE IS A WRITER. HE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE TITLE AS NATIONAL ARTIST FOR VISUAL ARTS. PERIOD.

  37. GabbyD on August 14th, 2009 12:34 pm

    @jun, gerry (and everyone)

    first, this has been an illuminating discussion. salamat.

    jun, you write:

    “Gerry will be credited as a writer of the story but he will not get credit whatsoever regarding the visual art part of the comic. As was said, a comic is a collaboration between STORY and VISUAL ART. Those two are different things. ”

    you used the word collaboration, which to me suggests 50-50 partnership.

    a hypothetical scenario (tell me if it applies to CJC): doesnt the credit depends on who gets the most control on the final product?

    in your example, its 5050 — if the illustrator draws it one way, the writer cant say, NO, do it another way, etc…

    in gerry’s architecture example, the architect has 100% control of the final product, the carpenters are simply tools for him. (is this a fair assesment of your position? you did write “fair enough” which tells me you agree)

    i think this is the theoretical bottomline:

    Credit depends on who gets control of the visuals of the final product.

    with architects, its the architect — hence, he gets credited for the design.

    with US comics, its really a collaboration… i’m sure a writer would accept notes/changes from a famous illustrator… so it really is 50-50…the artist gets the credit.

    but with CJC, i’m JUST NOT SURE.

  38. Jose Mari Lee on August 14th, 2009 1:01 pm

    “Takot kasing makipagsabayan itong mga FINE ART ARTISTS sa mga COMICS ILLUSTRATORS dahil alam nilang ilalampaso silang lahat.”

    Supremong Kapre:

    Itong statement na ito ay isang katotohanang hanggang ngayon ay hindi matanggap ng mga painters na MAS MAHABA PA ANG MGA ILONG KAY PINOCCHIO sa pag-aakalang ang mga Pinoy ay kaya nilang ululin all the time!

    Tunay ka. Ilalampaso talaga sila ng mga komiks illustrators nang mga nakaupo ito, hindi kailangang tumayo pa.

    Pero dahil sa dami ng mga WALANG UTAK na mga politiko diyan sa atin, nakita mo naman kung anong mga KABULASTUGAN ang kanilang mga desisyon.
    Mga walang alam sa art, kung bakit NAKIKIALAM sa hindi naman nila linya. Entonces, yung mga kung sinong Pontio Pilatos na may KAPIT sa mga nabanggit na politiko ang biniyayaan nitong award-award na iyan.

    Mag-bigay kaya tayo ng DOS-POR-DOS NATIONAL ARTIST AWARD. Tatawagin ang pangalan ng awardee, pag-akyat sa entablado para tanggapin ang kanilang award, HAHAMBALUSIN ng dos-por-dos mismo.
    Tapos, yung MARKA ng dos-por dos sa forehead ay magsisilbing tatak ng 666 for life.

    HHHHHHHHHH.

    HHHHHHHHHHHH>

  39. leinil yu on August 14th, 2009 2:33 pm

    “Takot kasing makipagsabayan itong mga FINE ART ARTISTS sa mga COMICS ILLUSTRATORS dahil alam nilang ilalampaso silang lahat.”

    I just saw a picture of a “Fine Artist” behind his nude sketches/paintings. I assume he is a national artist.

    Tony De Zuniga could run circles around him.

  40. Jun Pamintuan on August 14th, 2009 6:56 pm

    Please correct me if I am wrong, I am not familiar with Architecture but I think Architecture is a very precise/detailed area. A worker will not put a toilet in place if it is not included in the plan of the architect. A worker will not put an outlet if the plan doesn’t say so as well, a worker will use this specific type of metal or wood to make this or that, they will use specific nuts and bolts, nails, and so on. Each and every detail will go and MUST coincide with what and how the architect wants it to be. There will be no add-ons by the workers. Everything will go perfect as how the architect wants it to be down to the last detail in the plan. If the architect wants something done right, for all we know he can do it himself. But really, it will be ridiculous, time consuming, and a waste to see a SINGLE person (i.e. the architect) build the whole White House by his lonesome. Imagine him cutting off wood, carrying steel, painting the walls, etc. all by himself. It will take him almost his whole life, if not he will die before he even finishes such work. What more if the architect alone tries to make the Sydney Opera House by himself without help? 100% of the exact details and how things will be put into place and what things to be used and how it will look like MUST coincide with how the architect wants it to be. The Architect has control and can visualize exactly how the finished product will look like. But in comics?

    In comics, it is very different. A writer can never predict how an artist will make a scenario EXACTLY look like. Much more the whole comic to the last detail when it comes to visual art. He can say there should be a landscape there including a tree as background behind the fight scene of Hulk and Wolverine, but what type of tree? how large is the tree? are there little animals visible in the tree? how many leaves should be in it? How many amount of hair should the Hulk have in every panel? Let’s say he really gave the artist exact details. But can a writer do that to two different Visual Artists and come up with EXACTLY THE SAME VISUAL ART RESULT? NO. Even The Master Frank Frazetta himself can only duplicate his own work with similarity and almost with very same likeness but not EXACTLY PERFECT to the point that it looks like a carbon copy. A comic and how it will turn out depends on how the story goes and how the visual artist mainly interprets the story of the writer. In fact, we can have as many different visual art versions of The Infinity Gauntlet, Secret Invasion, and every other story out there. Take Starlin and give him a visual artist, let’s say Carlo Pagulayan. Starlin gives Carlo the details on how they will make the Infinity Gauntlet story arc look like and poof, it gets finished. Now get Starlin to work on the same project but this time with Leinil Yu as the visual artist, same details will be given to Yu and poof it gets finished. Can we say that both Infinity Gauntlet Versions are the same when it comes to Visual Art? NO. Because two different visual artists means two different visual art styles. But do they give you the same story? YES. The Infinity Gauntlet story. Pagulayan has his own way of interpreting a story through Visual Art means, same goes with Leinil Yu. Both are different visual artists and have different styles. You can’t expect them to draw “exactly” like mirrors on both accounts of the situation mentioned above even how much Starlin hammers all the details in their heads. The writer has no complete control on how the visuals will exactly look like to the very last detail. It is a collaboration. Hence the writer gets credited for the story and the visual artists get credit for the visual art/illustration. Those two things are different. Literature and Visual Art are two different things. If they’re the same, why not call it something like Literavisualarture.

    This is a scenario on how different those things are:
    Imagine there are no credits written in a certain finished comic. One look at the art and most art enthusiasts will definitely recognize Michael Turner’s style of drawing. Let’s say Leinil did the artwork, again, one look and you’ll know it is Leinil’s work. Now read the whole story and flow of the comic, now can you guess who wrote it even when the credits are not written anywhere? What are your chances at being right with TONS of writers existing? As I said, a writer is different from a visual artist. A writer gets credit for his writing skills, a visual artist gets credit for his visual art skills.

    Writing generally and definitely falls in Literature
    CJC is definitely a Writer
    I’d like an expert in Literature or an expert in Visual Artistry in the right mind tell me in the face that the Title of National Artist for Visual Arts can be given to a Writer. Heck I would even want visual artist John Romita Sr. himself to tell me personally and not anonymously that writer Stan Lee gets the credit as a VISUAL ARTIST for all their collaborative work in Spider-Man. Their famous run is commonly called Lee/Romita Spider-Man run for crying out loud. A run made by a writer and a visual artist. It is not Lee/Lee run wherein the writer gets credit as a writer and as a visual artist. Where’s Romita who drew the complete run? Where does he fall if Stan is both the writer and the visual artist? Dancing?

    Drawing/Illustration/Sketching definitely falls in Visual Arts
    CJC clearly does not fall anywhere in the above mentioned as he is a writer. I’d like an expert in Visual Artistry tell me in the face that a WRITER who does not and did not draw his written works in comics can be given the Title of National Artist for Visual Arts for his work in COMICS wherein he is the WRITER, not the VISUAL ARTIST of the comics.

  41. auggie on August 14th, 2009 10:12 pm

    Jun,

    It was CLEARLY AN OVERSIGHT on the part of GMA. She was set-up. Wala kasing OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE diyan sa mga NCCA-CCP. But since she is the President, she cannot afford to lose face. Ano ang sasabihin niya: I’M VERY SORRY MGA KABABAYAN, I MADE A MAJOR SCREW-UP. HAYAAN NINYO AT BABAWIIN KO. She has to stand up firm on her decisions whether right or wrong, and screw the consequences.

    Ang pinaka sensible sana eh, magkusa na sila CECIL at CARLO na I-DECLINE na lang nila ang awards to further save the the First Lady from embarrassment. This is a WIN-WIN situation.

    Tungkol doon sa tanong mo sa blue-print ng architect, you cannot screw around with that blue-print. Usually, pag- approve na ang project, at pirmado na ng City hall ang lahat ng papeles, Go na. Yung Civil Engineer na o Contractor na ang gagawa ng construction based doon sa blue-print design ng architect. Doon sa mga nagtitipid, pwedeng wala ng civil engineer, MAESTRO-KARPINTERO, na lang na marunong magbasa/interpret ng blue-print. Pag tapos na ang building or bahay, pasok naman ang INTERIOR DESIGNER ( APPLIED ART ito, at graduate ito ng FINE ARTS, o pwedeng ASSOCIATE lang,two year course). Siya naman ang magpapaganda ng interiors based sa napagaralan niya sa Fine Arts on the use of Space, Color, Texture, Illusions, Carpets, Curtains, furniture, etc. in short kung paano pagagandahin ang bahay para worthy ilagay sa mga magazine ngayon na pareho ng HOUSE BEAUTIFUL at iba pa.
    Tama ba Gerry ? So ,in brief, ang mga personalities involved sa Construction eh: ARCHITECT, CIVIL ENGINEER, INTERIOR DESIGNER.
    At ang malaking pagkakaiba eh 3D ito at ang Comics eh 2D. At importante, It could be a life and death situation. In other words dapat safe ang buildings/bahay na ginagawa nilang tatlo, altho more on the ambit ito ng engineer.

  42. Pinoy Comics USA on August 14th, 2009 11:20 pm

    Leinil,
    You are a Fine Artist. You’ve elevated the art of comics. Jay Anacleto is another one among the current crop of young illustrators who is a Fine Artist, but there could possibly be more.
    That’s why I don’t want to draw a distinction between Fine and Applied Arts. Some in the Fine Arts have no business being there, some in comics can easily fit into the Fine Arts category.
    Rod

  43. Carlo P on August 14th, 2009 11:39 pm

    Literavi…

    Litraviss

    Leteravii… bahala ka na

  44. Fermin Salvador on August 15th, 2009 7:20 am

    “Papaano kung kagaya ni Caparas na sinasabi sa kanyang VISUAL ARTIST na BAHALA KA NA sa mga VISUAL DRAWINGS na gusto mo, VISUAL WRITER pa rin ba dito siya? Ang sagot ay sobra pa siya sa VISUAL WRITER, puwedeng sabihin na SUPER VISUAL WRITER siya dahil sa sinulat niyang BAHALA KA NA ay sinasakop na nito ang LAHAT ng VISUAL DRAWINGS na maisipan ng VISUAL ARTIST.”

    Kapre,

    Nakuha ko ang logic mo. Kaya alam ko na rin kung bakit tinatawanan mo lang si Caparas at ang iba pang naideklarang National Artist. Kasi ang mga National Artist ay puro may “label” na bilang National Artist at limitado na lang sila sa label na ito. Pero gaya mo, hindi ka nga National Artist pero talo mo silang lahat na mga National Artist dahil NO RESTRICTIONS NOR LIMITATIONS ang label ng pagiging artist mo. Bukod sa puwede kang National Artist, International Artist ka rin o kaya Galactic Artist, o Artist of All Times, Spaces, & Dimensions, at kung ano-ano pa. Kaya walang sinabi ang mga National Artist na ‘yan. They are the “smallest” among artists.

  45. auggie on August 15th, 2009 10:25 am

    Fermin,

    Oo nga, pero mga walang PERKS yun na subsidized ng buong tax-paying Filipinos for LIFE & BEYOND ( tuloy daw ang pension sa maiiwanan na pamilya)at mga bragging rights sa mga kabarkada. Sa isang bansang aandap-andap ang economiya, BIG DEAL ito.

  46. Jun Pamintuan on August 15th, 2009 10:33 pm

    Anyone here watched the CJC interview in Jessica Soho earlier?

    here’s my version of it
    (note to keep in mind: these are not the exact words and sentences but the message and thought is there)

    Program starts, close up on CJC

    CJC: Alam mo Jessica lumaki ako sa bundok noon eh, inuutusan ako bumili ng sigarilyo, binabatukan ako, etc etc.

    mga manonood: Anong kinalaman nun sa pagiging visual artist? Paawa? Hindi ito tungkol sa life-story mo..tungkol to sa pagiging national artist..

    Jessica narrating something: “Si CJC ay nabigyan ng titulo bilang national artist for visual arts and film..blah blah..halos lahat ng artists at mga film-makers pati na ang mga dating national artists ay nagluluksa sa animo’y pagkamatay ng national artist awards sa Pilipinas at nagsasabing hindi karapat dapat si CJC na parangalan bilang isang national artist.”

    mga manonood: Ano pa kailangang tignan dyan? Eh peer-review pa lang talong talo na. Halos lahat na nga raw bumabatikos sa kanya pati mga dating nagawaran ng National Artist Titles. At di yun nanggaling sa mga kung sino lang. Mga REAL VISUAL ARTISTS na yun at mga peers nya sa film-making na may kasama pang National Artists!

    Jessica: Ang sabi ng mga bumabatikos sayo ay hindi raw ikaw ang gumuhit sa mga ginawa mo sa comics na nagpasikat sayo, pano nangyari na nabigyan ka raw ng title na national artist for visual arts?
    CJC: Marunong akong gumuhit (sabay labas ng papel at bolpen at gumuhit)

    mga manonood: Did he answer the question? Or did he AGAIN produce an irrelevant answer to the question? He wasn’t being asked if he can draw. He was asked why he got the NA for visual arts when he didn’t draw his written works.

    Jessica: Ang karamihan sa mga films raw na ginawa nyo ay mga massacre films. Ituturo na po ito sa mga schools ngayong national artist ka na. Ano po masasabi nyo?
    CJC: Alam mo Jessica maganda yang ituro sa schools eh, kasi ang mga movies na yan makakapagmulat o maipapakita sa mga tao na nag-aaral ang “justice” o “hustisya”

    mga manonood: WHAT?!? maganda raw ituro sa school??? Alin?!? yung VIOLENCE?!? MURDER!?! ehh??? National Artist ba talaga to?!? Bakit nya pino-promote ang Massacre and Violence na ituro at pag-aralan sa schools??? Ano na nangyayari sa Pilipinas??? Pano na ang mga BATA na tuturuan ng mga ganyang bagay baka gayahin nila dahil mura pa ang isipan nung mga yun??? GOD HELP US!!!

    Jessica: Ano po masasabi nyo sa mga bumabatikos sa inyo?
    CJC: Alam mo Jessica sa tingin ko napag-initan lang ako kasi ako ay hindi nakapag-tapos ng pag-aaral. Alam mo yun?

    mga manonood: Ah oo, pag-initan na rin natin si Einstein kasi parehas silang hindi nakapag-tapos. Bawiin natin ang Nobel Prize nun..di nakapag-tapos yun eh..

    Jessica: May nilapitan po ba kayo sa Malacanang o nilapitan nyo ho ba ang Presidente para kayo ay magawaran ng titulo bilang isang National Artist?
    CJC: Wala

    mga manonood: Sinong tao ang aamin sa TV interview kung totoo man o hindi ang isang bagay na maaaring sumira sa kanya lalo na at nagiging mainit na ang issue? Pag tinanong mo ba ang isang tao na nagtatrabaho sa Gobyerno lalo na kung nasa mataas na posisyon kung harap-harapang nangungurakot sya aamin ba yun? Sus, anong tanong yun?

  47. fermin salvador on August 15th, 2009 11:31 pm

    auggie,

    PAGTANGGAP/PAGGAMIT SA PERA NG BAYAN NA MILYON-MILYONG MAMAMAYAN ANG NAGUGUTOM, yan mismo ang number one issue ko sa pagka-NA ni Capural. It doesn’t matter kung ideklara siyang “greatest Filipino artist of all time” ng encumbent president. Hitler, Mussolini, and the like made such proclamations, Emperor Nero declared himself the greatest of the greatest greatest greatest artist but eventually history will make its own statement. But please, no public funds involved in the whimsical and most of the time ludicrous opinions and beliefs of the powers-that-be.

  48. auggie on August 16th, 2009 1:02 pm

    Fermin,

    Eh kung ganoon eh , di I-DECLARE na ng Presidente si CJC, na GREATEST VISUAL ARTIST & GENIUS OF ALL TIME IN THE WHOLE GALAXY & UNIVERSE, PROVIDED, WALANG NAKAKABIT NA PERKS, Oh yeah, kumporme ako !

  49. Carlo J. Caparas - Not A Visual Artist? - Viloria.net on August 26th, 2009 9:13 am

    [...] You can learn more by reading Gerry Alanguilan’s Why Carlo J. Caparas is NOT a Visual Artist [...]

  50. Butch Dalisay Offers Online Evidence for Supreme Court National Artist Case on September 1st, 2009 7:30 am

    [...] of what the rules are, all I know is that there’s something really wrong when you choose someone too lazy to describe a scene as a National Artist for the Visual [...]