Day 1 of Pam Pastor's 30-Day "Writing My Life" Challenge
I went to BenCab Museum in Baguio City last April and took some interesting shots in and around the galleries.
I saw this painting of five children seemingly hiding or peeking inside what appears to be a cloth and I thought it would make a good shot.
The painting is entitled "The Bemused," a word that isn't typically part of my vocabulary. I was pleasantly surprised to see my shadow through the glass frame so I took the shot regardless. Like any other millennial, I found the shot as artistic, hip, and pa-deep.
I searched for the meaning of "bemuse" after taking the shot and to my surprise, it is a verb that means "puzzle, confuse, or bewilder (somebody)." No wonder I found the painting interesting enough - most of the time, I am a puzzled, confused, and bewildered individual.
That time, I was bemused with the painting, at myself, and in my environment.
Perhaps I'm not the only one who feels instant connection with a particular artwork. I've been to a number of museums and there were pieces that stood out from my peripheral and invited me to their direction - like Juan Luna's bust and the "Spolarium" in the National Museum and "Republika ng Pilipinas" in Pinto Art Museum.
"The Bemused" attracted me with its subtle colors, placement in the gallery, and the five children who were, again, either hiding inside or peeking through the cloth. I couldn't decide if I want them to do the former or the latter.
In a way, I felt that they wanted to show me something but at the same time they couldn't do so; they wanted to lead me somewhere but they were confined within the cloth; and they wanted to reveal a secret - perhaps my secret - but they remained silent because I was in front of them.
Meanwhile, take a look at the red line at the center going down on the children. Doesn't it make the painting all the more bemusing?
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