ICU I See You You See Me

The Harlequin or Arlecchino, one of the popular Zanni archetypes in the Commedia Dell' Arte, is famous for being a servant demon and jester, stemming... more

by Simkin de Pio

Original - Sold

Price

$250

Dimensions

8.500 x 11.000 inches

Title

ICU I See You You See Me

Artist

Simkin de Pio

Medium

Painting - Pastel & Charcoal On Gouache On Paper

Description

The Harlequin or Arlecchino, one of the popular Zanni archetypes in the Commedia Dell' Arte, is famous for being a servant demon and jester, stemming from Hellequin, a black-faced emissary of the devil (stock character in French passion plays) who is said to have roamed the countryside with a group of demons chasing the damned souls of evil people to hell. In the french comedies, he is typically cast as the servant of innamorato (the lovers) or vecchio (the scrupulous elders), is slow in his mental faculties and is inherently chaotic-cum-acrobatic much to the detriment of his master.

I borrow the Filipino slang term "Boldyak" or boljak, which refers to the act of beating or hitting the head, in this case the penis or scrotum unintentionally or otherwise and kick it off from Dr. Carandang's invaluable dissertation on The Bully, The Bullied, and the Bystander--one of her talks which she presented in Xavier School in line with our anti-bullying campaign--my works dwell on the idea of the harlequin or 'arlecchino' in Italian as the embodiment of all three personas. Having experienced being bullied in school myself, admitting to having bullied maybe a few times in college, and finally realizing in my brief but rich encounter with grades three and four students at Xavier School that the ultimate role of a teacher "... lies in seeing that the child does not confound good with immobility and evil with activity"--in short, NOT to be a bystander.

In my series 'BOLDYAK: Reveries of a Harlequin', the harlequin is the archetypal BULLY: Gawking aimlessly at hard-working, good-hearted people and events, at the suffering and sacrifice that is made, nitpicking over and on the hunt for seemingly unimportant flaws as a twisted form of entertainment and game. The harlequin also takes/briefly keeps things that don't belong to him like letters, bags, valuables, or even food; the BULLIED: the harlequin, best known for his extreme agility, is depicted in positions at rest due perhaps to exhaustion or a 'retreat' from juggling between a seemingly never-ending battery of chores, criticism, and castigation. Notwithstanding, the slothful or lethargic bearing is given fresh impetus by the lively and spontaneous brushwork, breathing life into the character; and the BYSTANDER: The Harlequin's comic and free-spirited nature, euphemistic as it may seem, is the heart of the series. I believe comedy involves and brings about a relinquishing of fears, strong or repressed feelings. Creative playfulness--not childishness--and embracing a more flexible, humorous disposition bridges me to inexhaustible positive energy.

Uploaded

November 25th, 2013