The unassuming genius

They all laughed at Rockefeller Center,

Now they’re fighting to get in.

They all laughed at Whitney and his cotton gin.

They all laughed at Fulton and his steamboat,

Hershey and his chocolate bar,

Ford and his Lizzie, kept the laughers busy

That’s how people are.

— Ella Fitzgerald, They All Laughed

Genius is almost always mistaken for insanity or sheer madness. Individuals who think and express themselves in more unconventional ways are often accused of disrupting the status quo, disturbing the peace, threatening normalcy and all of that. Perhaps it’s just the way the majority reacts to things — people get too comfortable with certain ideas/routines/lifestyles sometimes that a little spice scares them. Complacency also hinders people from raising the bar a notch higher.

Several historical figures are perfect examples of how geniuses and their unusual ideas, because of ignorance and an unwillingness to think out of the box, are shot down by the mainstream. Take, for example, Albert Einstein: a super-genius, the dude behind the Theory of Relativity, and whose name today is synonymous with the word “smart.” His grade school teacher said that he was no good in school and would amount to nothing. Yeah, right.

Another example would be the great artist Vincent Van Gogh; notorious for chopping off his own ear (following a breakdown in his friendship with artist Paul Gauguin,) he was also misunderstood by the public. Okay, so he may have suffered some mental illness (he killed himself after all, the psycho), but man, what he did with his brush and palette fueled entire movements in art. His contribution to the history and color of the art world overshadows all the taunts and jeers he received in his lifetime.

This kind of thing still happens today. Innovative minds still fall prey to the heckling of the monochrome majority. Simply put, it’s history repeating itself. But a relationship between the mainstream and the off-beat individual has been developed over all the years of misunderstanding. As a means of progressing, innovators are able to channel the negativity generated by the public into some kind of fuel that makes them move closer to something this writer would loosely refer to as “enlightenment.”

The story of the day 23-year-old Mark Andy Garcia rushed to beat the deadline for an Art Petron art competition is a contemporary tale of how the potential genius is, once again, given a harder time by the misunderstanding public. An action-filled account of events that transpired on that day, this could someday be a scene in the Mark Andy Garcia Movie.

Deciding that the quickest and most efficient way to make it to the Petron building in Makati was by bus, Andy (as he prefers to be called) waited until one stopped to pick him up. A couple of passenger buses passed, but none of them slowed down. He realized that the huge canvas he was carrying must have made him an undesirable passenger. Andy then spotted a bus that had just dropped a commuter off a few meters from where he was standing. Realizing that time was ticking away, he ran after it and jumped on at the last possible moment. He had made it. Inside the bus, the driver, the conductor and several passengers complained that his painting was too big and was a nuisance during the trip. Andy did not go into specifics during this part of his story, but one can imagine how creative some people can get when they feel like insulting somebody.

Well, the joke was on them. The story’s denouement makes up for all the trouble Andy went through for some recognition; it’s a happy ending. The painting made the deadline and it won the grand prize for the Art Petron National Student Art Competition that year. Andy’s name is now listed in the annals of Philippine art. The people who ridiculed him on the bus that day might have seen his name and photo in the papers at some point. But chances are, they’re all still riding around in ignorance. That’s the way it is.

This is not the only prize Andy has received for being an outstanding artist. His bold strokes, vibrant colors, and overall one-of-a-kind “canvas vision” have received recognition from Metrobank’s Art and Design Excellence, the Philippine Drawing Society, the PASUC National Cultural Festival Art Competition, and the Shell National Student Art Competition. He has also had numerous citations from different organizations, and has held a number of art shows, exhibiting his talent. Andy’s latest accomplishment was coming in as one of the 10 national finalists in the Manila Art Awards, sponsored by the Phillip Morris Group of Companies. No need to play up Andy’s success; his credentials doing all the talking necessary.

Perhaps it’s his unassuming nature that shows how Andy’s gift is of genius proportions. His plethora of experiences, from being a breadwinner, to working for some time in Saudi Arabia, to his faith in the Bible (he says that his faith is now at a more solid position) are more than enough inspiration for him when he creates. His numerous awards haven’t changed the fact that he is just a guy whose vocation happens to be art. When asked what his style of art is, he says: “Sabi nila expressionism daw yung ginagawa ko. Pero para sa akin, itong mga artworks ko ay parang journal lang, para hindi ko makalimutan ang mga ideas at experiences ko.” People say he paints and draws with a particular style, yet Andy’s modest words seem to speak volumes about the simple honesty in his work.

The common denominator between all geniuses is the fact that they are true to their craft. Without catering to the norms and the trends — or being affected by insulting words on a particular commuter bus in Metro Manila — these exemplary individuals have all been willing to push the envelope in hopes of moving everything and everyone (haters included) forward. No crab mentality when it comes to great minds, it’s all about the drive to move forward, improve, and leave a legacy future geniuses can continue.

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E-mail me at enricomiguelsubido@yahoo.com.