Subject and Content of Art

TERM PAPER 2:
SUBJECT AND
CONTENT
Failure to appreciate it equates to failure of the comprehension and the

experience. It covers 3 clues, namely, subject, form and content.
⮚ Subject answers to the question, what, and it focuses on the visual aspects
such as the image in the artwork.
⮚ Form answers to the question, how, and it focuses on how the elements,
medium and materials are put together (development & configuration of the
artwork).
⮚ Content answers to the question, why, and focuses on the meaning or
message that is being communicated by the artist or the artwork.
Representational art is one of the types of subject. It is some sort of

figurative art where it refers to objects or events occurring in the real world. Since
Delotavo used natural colors of the existing entities, it has become easier for the
audience to recognize the painting itself. Viewers find a degree of comfort when
what they see registers something familiar. Its content has various level of meanings
which includes Factual meaning, giving us an understanding of how the elements
that were mentioned below correlates to each other, and conventional meaning,
where the interpretation of the artwork below was acknowledge using motifs, signs
and symbols as basis of its meaning.
Antipas DeloItavo, Filipino artist, Itak sa Puso ni Mang Juan, 1978.
(Ang itak sa puso ni Mang Juan. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/536702480569009659/)
The painting, Itak sa Puso ni Mang Juan, was painted by Antipas Delotavo in
1978. It was painted on a paper using watercolour during the Marcos Regime which
aims to put emphasis on the need to bream away from the western-oriented culture.
The subject clue on the painting consists of 2 figures, an old man and the
Coca-cola signage. A man, Mang Juan, slightly stooped passing by an
overwhelmingly large billboard advertising the Coca cola product. The serif of the
letter C appears to nearly touch the chest of the fatigued figure. Mang Juan’s
slouched posture, angled bowing head, an anxious and disturbed face, wrinkled face,
patches of white hair a passive slouching back and a seemingly weak right hand
holding his left elbow through his back. His hunched back and hand on one elbow
looks like he is in need of support or he will fall. With no other person in the
painting, he thinks that he is alone in the fight against capitalism and the oppressors.
However, there are shades of white painted on the wall below which resembles a
crowd-the mass protesting and fighting for the same cause.
His skin was painted brown and his polo shirt and pants has a resemble of a
factory worker’s uniform, representing the Filipino laborers. He looks as if all his
strength were exhausted by the company he works for. The scowl on Mang Juan’s
face and the drooping of his mouth says that the workers are not being treated well
and are being taken advantage of by companies and corporations.
Coca-cola logo is the symbol of capitalism. According to Delotavo in cultural

enslavement, coca cola has been already touted as the poster of globalization.
The sparkles and flash of light symbolizes the glamour associated with the company
of Coca cola.
On the form clue, Delotavo used the natural colors of the existing entities so
that it will be familiar to the audience. Gradients of red paint engulf the background
looking like splattered blood. The sharp tip of the C mimicking the tip of a knife or
sword appears to be subtly stabbing Mang Juan in his chest may refer to colonialism
and capitalism or even the cancer of the society since it shows that the company he
dedicated a big part of his life for is killing him. Leaning towards the tip of the letter
C, Mang Juan feels hopeless and has submitted himself to the bosses or company
owners.
A small gap between the tip of the C and Mang Juan’s chest interprets as a slow
death for Mang Juan. He has surrendered to that idea that as long as capitalism is
alive, he will stay a slave to them and to the company.
In the content clue, Itak sa puso ni Mang Juan is a feedback on the negative
impacts of globalization and commercialization in the Philippines. It reminds us the
past when Marcos regime rules in the Philippines. That time when the United states
of America manipulates a third world country like us.
In my own observation, the painting reflects the negative effects that Coca-
cola has brought into our country. Demotavo applied the concept of deja vu, where
history repeats itself, captured through preservation by art, depicting elite-power
grabs and manipulations which dumped the lowest sector of the society, labor force,
pulling them down below the poverty line. The artwork figuratively encases itself as
an effect of the continuous, unchanged process caused by man himself.
Mang juan appears as if he is being held back by himself. Its a symbolism of

the Filipinos not being able to move forward of our own faults. Filipinos are being
held back because of our mental colonialism. Filipinos are being enslaved by the
foreign countries in terms of culture and economy.
To be honest, I am already familiar with this artwork since it was discussed

by Ms. Candice, my teacher in CPAR when I was still in grade 12 back then. This art
critic is objective since it only has one general meaning-a realist depiction of the
abstract thought of what capitalism, globalism and colonialism is doing to our
country, the Philippines.
The message of this artwork has enlightened me and opened my eyes that I
should never patronized the foreign goods more than the local goods produced in
this country. Furthermore, it made my perception broader because it has made my
understanding better into the state of the Filipino workers more so the poorest of
the poor individuals. Truly, Itak sa Puso ni Mang Juan is a wake-up call to help the
country by supporting the Filipino laborers.
These kind of artworks are the ones needed by the people now and the
future generation since visual representations like this can captivate more since the
audience are more familiarized when the artwork are uses by natural colors that
portrays its real image in the outside world. Arts that are under social realism requires
deep critical thinking from the audience because it conveys message of protest and
also depict social conditions which gives awareness and additional knowledge to the
audience and can also be a way to advocate for those silenced and voiceless in the
society.
Gandhi once said, "Be the change you want in this world ". Little by little,
students like myself can participate in helping in this problem by using technology.
Social media will be used as platforms to voice out opinions towards the government
and to other aspects of the economy. I personally believe that small acts, when done
together, can make a big difference not just it will be benefit us but also the future
generations as well.

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TERM PAPER 2:

Failure to appreciate it equates to failure of the comprehension and the

Representational art is one of the types of subject. It is some sort of

Coca-cola logo is the symbol of capitalism. According to Delotavo in cultural

Mang juan appears as if he is being held back by himself. Its a symbolism of

To be honest, I am already familiar with this artwork since it was discussed

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