A Conversation with Jamie Bautista On Art and the Creative Process: Art is Creating an Emotional Response ( 1 of 3 )

A few months back, I had the pleasure of iniviting Jamie Bautista for an Author Visit in school. Thank God, he said yes. He delivered a fun and insight inducing session with our high school students. Apart from being an author and a graphic novel creator, he is also the publisher of Triggered: Creative Responses in the Extra-judicail Killings in the Philipipnes. 

I recieved a copy of Triggered a week after his talk and it took me a while to fully digest its gravitas. Also, I needed some time to collect myself, as I have been slugging through the toil and trouble of living during the pandemic times. The topic which Triggered covered and explored is indeed relevant. I found mysefl burdened, nonetheless, emboldened to move forward doing my bit as librarian and litearcy coach to young and adult learners. Triggered was not an easy read but it gave me the consolations of companionship and compassion. 

Equally striking is the process in which the contributors, the publishing and editorial teams went through. They labored together in conceptualizing and mentoring the writers and the artists who contributued content to the anthology. Editors Jocelyn Martin and Cyan Abad Jugo provided an introduction to the collection narrating their own despair and confusion to the issues of extrajudicial killings, drug addiction and law enforcement. As teachers, they too are very much affected by it. And so, they turn to the calling of their craft and mentored young writers and artists into creating litearature that makes for a valuable contribution to modern history. 

Here now is a three-part interview with Jamie where we conversed about about art in a time of conflict and disturbance; the value of mentoring in the creative process; and resources and recommendations for teachers, mentors and guides of young people who are pursuing a career in the arts and its delicate management.

I hope that you will also find a safe space to think and feel, sort out your thoughts and respond to them in the most creative and peaceful way possible.

SLIA: What informs an artist or a creative person in channeling a disturbance into something beneficial to oneself and the community? 

Jamie Bautista (JB): I think when an artist or creative wishes  to channel a disturbance into something that is constructive,  they are informed partly by their own take on what has caused  the disturbance and why it is disturbing to them, but also party by  what they think society or the community needs to offset the negative  effects of the disturbance.  It’s a balancing act between the artist's expression of their experience  with the disturbance and a positive outcome for the audience  or the community. Because it isn’t always the same thing. For example,  an artist can feel angered by something happening in society, but  if the solution to the disturbance requires art that is more welcoming  and anger only alienates those who can make a difference, the art cannot  be angry in its tone or message.  I believe the way an artist feels about a disturbing issue should be  the catalyst for creating the art and the wind of inspiration that  keeps them going. But the craft of the art itself, because there is a clear  outcome or goal to be achieved, should be informed more by what will  actually solve the problem that causes the disturbance.  In the case of our book Triggered, the issue of EJK of course disturbed,  frightened, and disgusted both me and my writing mentee, Kat. But we  both knew that simply writing stories that were explicitly anti-EJK   and that expressed our feelings would not cause those who may find  EJKs acceptable or even necessary to change their minds. In a democracy  where we have to elect leaders who influence these things, changing minds  is crucial. So we both worked to create stories that tried to see things  from the perspective of those on the other side of the argument,  so that it would show we were open-minded and listening and readers  from that side would find a common ground with us. But part of the craft  of the story is finding a way to show them our side of the argument,  using not just logic and facts, but  with empathetic characters and  situations. Then maybe they will see our point-of-view and try to work  with us to stop EJK, or at least try to offset the harm it has already caused. Art is about creating an emotional response in others. So for me, this type of  art needs to be informed by what emotions will get an audience to work  towards an outcome that counters the disturbance. That means going beyond  using art simply as a means of self-expression, of personal catharsis, and of  reinforcing those who already agree with us. Those help keep us going and  should be part of the process, but the final goal should be other-oriented if  it’s meant to benefit society or the community. Where to buy Trigerred: TRIGERRED: Creative Responses to the  Extra-Judicial Killings in the Philippines | Shopee Philippines