It was a sweltering summer day. You were lounging in the living room while scanning through a magazine. Suddenly, a feature caught your eye. It was about a painting created by Antipas Delotavo. You stopped on that page and took in the work of art.
The painting was called Itak sa Puso ni Mang Juan and it featured a man standing in front of a wall mural with his body was angled sideways. His skin was painted brown and his polo shirt and pants resemble that of a factory worker’s uniform as though he was representing the Filipino laborers. Wrinkled skin, patches of white hair, and slouched posture comprised Mang Juan’s appearance. He looks tired and worn out- 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 he represents under a capitalist society are not being treated well and are being taken advantage of by companies and corporations.
Gradients of red paint engulf the background looking like splattered blood. In contrasting big white letters was the logo of Coca-Cola. The edge of the first C in Coca was sharp mimicking the tip of a knife or sword. Pointing towards Mang Juan’s chest and coupled with the blood-like background, 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. He has surrendered to that idea that as long as capitalism is alive, he will stay a slave to them and to the company.
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, if he just looked a little further down, he would see shades of white painted on the wall which resembles a crowd- the mass protesting and fighting for the same cause.
Under the Coca-Cola logo, the words REG PHIL were also painted in white, however smaller. Commonly a shortened version of Registered in the Philippines, the big companies in the countries have managed to register their mark into our lives, hence our continuous patronage and their continuous exploitation of workers like Mang Juan.
Depicting the situation of the working class, I believe that this painting is considered an art under social realism. For me, it showed how art can be a way to advocate for those silenced and voiceless in the society. Truly, Itak sa Puso ni Mang Juan is a wake up call to help the country by supporting the Filipino laborers.
What Len Thinks 