I remember making two sketches of two little boys in my church. These two boys are both nice and honest – maybe a little frank, as how we expect kids to say the truth even if what they say may not be quite pleasing. They are about six and three, the older one being closer to me looked at my two sketches and said with a smile (an innocent one I should say), “Bakit ganyan, ang pangit?” and then followed it with a laugh. I couldn’t really say anything as that was a little embarrassing, considering the effort I put into making those sketches. After that, I showed my sketches to a group of older people, somewhere between late twenties to thirties, they all were quite impressed and said that I did a pretty good job – with that I felt quite relieved, at least the “wiser” people appreciated my art. I looked at my sketches and asked myself, what could have made the kid say it was ugly and the adults to say it was beautiful and that it was art?
the following week after my embarrassing consultation with this six-year old, I made another sketch, a sketch of him – one I tried to “copy” from a photograph I took of him a few months ago. He looked at it and to my surprise, he was pleased and he even asked me if he could have my sketch of him. I asked him what the difference was with the first sketch I did, he aid the first one did not quite look like his brother, he said that I did not “copy” everything – by everything I suppose it was everything that mattered for it to look like the original (his younger brother).
Hearing this from a six year old, a critique of an art made by someone more than thrice his age, I had a grip of what art is or at least what a “beautiful” piece of art is for kids. I remember, I too was like that before. I picture art or at least a good drawing to be a good imitation of reality or of the original. Now, what has been the cause of this, I do not know. But I do know that being exposed to people who mattered or to people who somehow “set the standards” and witnessing them consider random splashes of paint on a canvass say that that is art, made me reconsider and made me see the beauty in them. 
The traditional and conservative art has been given much praise over the past hundred years and the rise of the modern art I believe is a sign for man’s progress. It shows how wide and limitless and rigid less the human mind is. It shows how sacred art is conceived by man as we see it beyond a “format”. Art is making and seeing something beyond what is given in front of you. It is inviting the artist and the viewer of art in one course – that is to both understand and appreciate art. The modern artists manifest a higher sense of art appreciation and understanding – going beyond rules, setting art free and really practicing art as it should be and as it truly is. Modern artists invite this spirit of accepting and even being able to marvel upon the flaws and awkwardness of things and of people and brushing off remains of endless setting of standards of what beauty is and giving a fresh taste and view of the reality that these flaws and awkwardness and all these wrongs – is actually beauty and art itself. Now, this I think is what art is.
valynbaluyot 