Present Encounters : Papers from the conference of the Second Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Brisbane, 1996

A range of critics have frequently remarked that it is often difficult to differentiate between critiques and celebrations of mass culture in the work of Pop artists. The deadpan mimicry that characterises so much of the work identified as 'Pop Art' is cool enough to avoid categorisation into opposing categories. This works well when the corporate agencies buying the work can turn a blind eye to the fact that they m ight have been the target of critique, but it doesn't work so well as a strategy of resistance. This i nterpretation of popular culture as a metaphor for change does not fit as easily when cultures within the Asia-Pacific region are examined . In such cultures popular culture can be better described as a kind of transcultural dialogue, where received or imposed forms of international popu lar culture are rei nscribed to suit the contexts of local cu ltures. Examples of these transcultural dialogues can be witnessed in what seem to be localised wi llful mistranslations of the infl uences of the dominant cultu re. When viewed in this way, such 'mistranslations' can be recognised as positive indicators of emergent hybrid forms. These forms are often forged from within a buffer zone between more established traditional arenas and influences from elsewhere, and become the basis for new languages of expression. These emergent languages use mistranslations consciously and wi llfu lly - they take both dominant, established or traditional forms and twist them so that they are not as easily assimilated i nto the mainstream codes of dominant cu ltu res. As a result, they are difficult to deal with through the recogn ised categories of art theory. Because these forms are rarely able to be directly assimilated into mainstream frameworks or categories, they are all too often rejected as marginal or as pidgin or as hybrid or as doggerel - all terms that refuse to recogn ise the range of cultural expressions that exist between the homogenised sameness of international popular culture and the establ ished styles of traditional codes. In terms of categorisation, these cultural forms are messy. It is easier to dismiss them as the failures of poorly u nderstood mimicry than to attempt to analyse them in terms of their loca l contexts. By way of illustration I would like to refer to examples of how, in The Philippines, popular cultural forms have developed in response to various waves of colon isation. Many of the forms of contemporary culture that are recognised as 'typical ly Filipino' today are the result of loca l resistances to imposed cultural ideas and forms. Contemporary expressions of Catholicism in The Phil ippines are the result of years of subtle amendments to the forms and practices of Catholicism that were originally imposed by th ree-hund red years of Spanish colonisation . The diversity o f cu ltures that make up The Philippines have sustained endless centuries o f a range of imperialisms with a shared spirit of i rreverent humour. Many of the annual reg ional Filipino fiestas and pageants are evidence of carnivalesque responses to authority and imposed reg imes and mores. In the Ati-Atihan festival in Kalibo, Aklan, local mythologies became superimposed by the celebration of the Christ-child, or Santo Nino. In this province the Aetas, disti nguished by their dark skin colouri ng and tight, curly hair, comprise the local mi nority culture. Legend has it that they exchanged their traditional coastal land for a golden helmet offered to them by the Spanish i nvaders. The Ati-Atihan festival began as a commemoration of the original inhabitants of the area, and then was transformed through Catholicism and commercial ism into a celebration of Senor Santo Nino. However, the popularity of the festival and the increased commercialisation (the principal sponsors a re San M iguel beer) , together with the competitiveness of local communities to out-do each other with floats and costumes, has once again returned the festival to the origi nal focus of celebration: the celebration of the Aetas. Although the concepts of 'blackness' and marg i nality a re more generalised in the riotous, high-camp celebrations (everyone's face gets smeared with black) an ongoing homage to the original i nhabitants of the province conti nues. Yet central to the processions and rivalry is the local Catholic chu rch , where a non-stop mass continues for the duration of the long weekend of celebrations. At the central altar a bevy of priests and novices are on hand day and night to rub down the often d runk, riotously attired partici pants with a statue of Santo Nino in order to ensure them a year of good health. The 1 25