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Innocence in the Hands of Adults

Digital Art by:

Carlos C. Bonus

Lalaine B. Coronel

Xyle Gabriel P. Magdamit

Joshua N. Melodillar

“Devoid of Innocence” (2019)

The idea that childhood is the epitome of innocence has been coined way back 1760′s by the French Philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who claimed that children were born inherently good and free from guilt. As they gradually experience the woes of life, they become more vulnerable to the negativity we learn from life affecting their decisions and judgment on what really is considered morally correct.

In previous generations, innocence was said to be held until you were 12 years old, right before parents approach you to give you talks about puberty, the passage of life, and how the world around you changes as you become aware of how your body undergoes natural physical alterations. However, we see the future generations slowly losing their innocence in a much more younger age. How did this happen?

There are multiple reasons and possibilities to answer the question, ‘how do children lose their innocence?’ Maybe we can blame social media and the rise of technology because of the inability to safely filter what really is considered inappropriate for children, maybe we can even say it was because of too much information that kids are becoming hyper-aware of every single day. In my opinion, blaming these things is somehow ignoring the real cause of loss of innocence at the end of the day. I think, the reason behind the obvious loss of innocence was because of adults’ wants to consciously control the minds and upbringing of children by basis of social constructs we all, or at least some of us, try to fight against.

You see, the concept of social construct exists because of humanity’s need to collectively agree on something through human interaction. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing for this concept to exist, because after all unity in beliefs are needed in order to avoid conflict. Although, humanity tends to be stubborn when it comes to changes, especially with changes in belief and acceptance of other people’s unique philosophies. How does this correlate with loss of innocence?

Let’s look at the role of adults in the cognitive development of children. In a basic analysis, parents or adults have the inherent responsibility to create a conducive environment for children to grow up in. It’s said that the home is the basic unit of the society, where we can learn the basics of human interaction, and most of us spend the first five years of our lives in the comfort of our homes. During these five years, we experience the early stages of development. What does this mean? It means that whatever you learn from your household is something you tend to do outside of it.

To put things into perspective, we normally teach our children the basic attitude to present yourself depending on what we think is sociable. But, just because it’s considered correct by society doesn’t mean it really is. The main problem here lies on adults’ reliance on previous social constructs that in turn create stigmas on people who break these particular concepts (e.g. homosexuality, pre-marital sex, activism, patriarchy) and in turn they teach these concepts to children hoping that they’d just blindly follow what has been happening in the past generations.

Children always ask questions why things are the way they are, we have constantly believed that children are free from evil and always guiltless, they notice when things are a bit off, but this changes when adults alter their minds and justify the wrongs they do by pointing out other wrong things as well.

Look at the digital art for example and its elements. At first glance we see the face of a child with blank eyes right. I think this symbolizes the loss of innocence in itself. How we were once wide-eyed and full of awe towards the world, but something changes and then we become this empty-stared person because of damaged we become so early in life. At the same time we can see a blurred silhouette of the child, who still had eyes. A reminder of his sweet innocence. Next are the details of the white flowers, seemingly hydrangeas, which is said to mean purity and lastly the dove which is the symbol of hope. Putting it all together, it becomes this message of the once pure and hopeful child losing his identity because of the world.

In the end, what we should remember is this. Allow children to grow and change perspectives. Explain certain concepts in a way they can create their own opinions of it. Still, this would all be for naught if adults themselves, continuously ignore the growth of society and refuse to understand humanity’s flaws and remain their eyes closed on changes that are needed to be made.

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A Novella in the Making: A Review on Alice Guillermo’s Philippine Contemporary Aesthetics

Art has been said to mirror one’s inner thoughts or soul. A medium to express one’s self, a road to get a glimpse of the identity of an individual. More than that, art is also a glimpse of a person’s upbringing, a person’s experience, a person’s environment and history. The same goes for aesthetic. How it reflects the story of who the artist is, where it was made, when it was made, and what was happening during the time of it’s creation. After reading “Alice Guillermo’s Philippine Contemporary Aesthetics”, I realized a few things. All of which will be discussed in the following parts.

The first thing I realized was this. Art is more than just beauty. It’s the story, the tragedy, the smiles, the wars, the treaties. It’s how it was built around an era and how it showcases the tradition of where it was made or who made it. Take for example the Talaandig of the Banwaon tribe located in Mindanao. Their people use soil to paint and normally depict their lives, beliefs, and practices as an ethnic group therefore creating a sense of understanding and unity within their tribe.

The next is how usually one overlooks the materials used in the creation of a particular artwork. A deeper understanding and a higher level of observation would change this perspective. We have to understand that in every location, especially in the Philippines, there are numerous sources that can be used to create something. This can be seen in a few creations out of recycled materials like entrepreneur from Los Baños, Laguna who had this amazing idea to create bags out of water hyacinth, which is widespread in the Philippines. Not only does this utilize easily accessible resources, but it’s also a voice for environmental advocacies. This brings me to the next part.

The importance of subject and content in finally forming a synthesis between art and aesthetic, and political or societal views and stances. In deducing the main goal of an existing artwork, we have to look at the main voice of the creator. What type of narrative does the art want to send through the aesthetic it shows. Does the use of colors have an effect on the emotion it was trying to present? Perhaps it was under the color scheme of a rainbow, bringing in the imagery of same and equal rights for all genders? Or did it use rough and thick lines transcending into smooth and easy patterns that may or may not talk about a history of one’s life. Regardless, in order to appreciate art and its aesthetic, one must ground themselves through the story of each work.

However, we shouldn’t forget that in each work, we have different pieces to put together. I didn’t just talk about all the three major considerations in aesthetic just to talk about appreciation and understanding art. I wrote this to try and make people understand what it felt reading this whole article. How art makes a name for itself. I came here to tell you that art is a representation of who you are as a person, of who we are as a society.

Art and the aesthetic it follows is perhaps a fleeting image of the time and culture it was made, but it will be and is always a part of the history of a country and its people. It’s a never ending novella in the making. A story for the ages.