National Museum of the Philippines issues response to F. Sionil Jose’s ‘learned opinion’

After his private letter to National Museum patron Ramon del Rosario made the rounds online without his knowledge, National Artist for Literature F. Sionil Jose took to Facebook Tuesday to make public his opinions about certain artworks inside the Museum of Fine Arts.

READ: F. Sionil Jose clarifies letter 'circulating without my prior knowledge'

“I object to the presence of a work by Andres Cristobal Cruz and most of all a room dedicated to Emilio Aguilar Cruz. Both have not produced any significant body of work, either paintings or books, of great artistry,” a portion of his statement read.

GMA News online reached out to National Museum Director Jeremy Barns regarding the matter and on Wednesday morning, he issued a statement.

Where the 93-year-old National Artist believes the Museum “should under no condition exhibit anything but the best that our artists have created,” Barns explains that “it is not the intention that every work of art be a recognized masterpiece by acclaimed artists but rather, have certain qualities and contribute meaningfully in conveying to visitors the story of visual arts in the Philippines.”

Read his completely statement below:

Deciding what items to exhibit at all the museums of the National Museum is a core curatorial function that is carried out based primarily on scholarly study and deep knowledge of the items in the permanent collections, carefully assessed and approved by museum management and periodically reviewed.

At the National Museum of Fine Arts the general curatorial objective is to provide visitors the best possible opportunity of learning and appreciating the history, development, scope, diversity, character and key highlights of Philippine visual arts within the overall context of national heritage and patrimony, linking Filipino artistic expressions through time with potential insights into Filipino identity.

This ambitious but vital undertaking means that a great variety and range of different works by a large number of artists, from the anonymous masters of the earliest colonial times until the senior artists of the contemporary era will be involved, and it is not the intention that every work of art be a recognized masterpiece by acclaimed artists but rather have certain qualities and contribute meaningfully in conveying to visitors the story of visual arts in the Philippines.

The National Museum respects the opinions and criticisms made by any member of the public, particularly if it is made out of concern for the institution and its work. The facilitation of social discourse is indeed one of the key functions of any public museum. Informed criticism by stakeholders and the public, and especially the country’s illustrious men and women of arts and letters, is always welcome, and prompts appropriate reflection within the National Museum as to whether it is indeed working in the best interests of the public, in accordance with its mandate, mission and aims.

— LA, GMA News