GED108: Art Appreciation
Insight Paper on the Article
“Why Arts Should Matter” by Dr. Jose Dalisay, Jr.
Instructor: Louie G. Giray
Written by John Reign V. David
Class of GED108 – B1
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering 1st Year
S.Y. 2024 – 2025
3rd Trimester
The Price of Color Over Concrete
If the human mind were a house, science and logic would build its walls, but
the arts would decide where the windows face. Reading Dr. Dalisay’s article made
me realize that for so long, we have been building homes with no light. We often
assume the arts are decorations, extra, unnecessary, maybe even impractical. But Dr.
Dalisay's insights challenge that thinking. The arts are not accessories; they are
architects of perspective. His article doesn’t just defend the arts, it puts them back
where they belong, at the center of how a society understands, governs, and even
feeds itself.
Before reading the article, I already believed that the arts were emotionally
important, good for the heart, good for expression, good for the soul. But I didn’t
fully realize that the arts are also “good for the body”, as Dr. Dalisay puts it, good
for the economy, for nation-building, and for making sense of who we are as a
people. His example of how creative industries contributed billions to the Philippine
economy made me rethink how we view artists. They're not just dreamers; they’re
contributors to progress, just like engineers and scientists. Maybe even more so,
because they give meaning to what we build and measure.
One part that really stayed with me was when he talked about how we struggle
to tell a national story. We don’t know who our heroes are or what kind of tale we
are living through. That hit hard. I realized that the arts help answer the questions
that numbers alone cannot, questions like “Where are we going as a nation?” or
“What are we willing to sacrifice for our ideals?” These are questions that, as he
says, require imagination, not just data. That gave me a deeper respect for literature,
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film, music, and other forms of art. They are not just stories or sounds. They are
tools for national clarity.
Another point I appreciated was Dr. Dalisay’s frustration with how little voice
scientists and artists have in policymaking. We always hear from politicians and
businessmen, but rarely from poets or painters. Maybe that’s why our laws often feel
like they were written by people with calculators, not people with compassion or
creativity. The idea that cultural illiteracy and mathematical ignorance exist together
in our society is something I hadn’t thought of before. We lack both sides, the logic
and the light. That makes us vulnerable.
His criticism of how we treat our National Artists and Scientists as invisible,
while we glorify beauty queens and boxers, was a wake-up call. Why do we only
support what entertains, not what enlightens? This insight made me feel both
embarrassed and motivated. Embarrassed at how we’ve been ignoring real heroes,
and motivated to do my part in supporting the arts, not just emotionally, but
intellectually and politically.
But perhaps the most powerful insight from this article is the reminder that art
is not just about beauty, it’s about power. Power to shape identity, to influence
decisions, and to move people into action. If we want a society that not only runs
well but dreams boldly, we need the arts as much as we need infrastructure. The arts
are not “extra”, they are essential.
And so, if ever I find myself holding a coin between funding a painting or
paving a road, I will now hesitate, not because I don’t see the value of concrete, but
because I finally see the value of color.
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