LISTEN TO ARTICLESynthesized Narration • 0:00 / 0:00

One day, you woke up with an odd gift: the power of noticing the unnoticed. In return, you lost memory of every remarkable art piece you've ever seen. The meticulous strokes of the Mona Lisa, the realistic sparkle of the pearl in Girl With a Pearl Earring—all of the masterpieces in museums had somehow vanished from your mind. A complete blur like a half-remembered dream. Instead, you started noticing every piece of graffiti you found on old, cracked walls. Outside, you walked past a few of them, your eyes now wandering the street. On the corner of empty parking lots and on the sketchy, dark, and narrow streets. You saw politically-motivated sketches by undiscovered artists who were wanted for the "mess" they made. But you resonated with these murals. To you, there was art in that act of rebellion. You then went to the nearby tindahan. There, you realized how abundant in art every store is. The walls were completely covered in green in an attempt to draw customers’ attention. The wooden seats, where drunkards rejoice every evening, were covered in scratches and the smell of liquor from last night. The grills were the only thing that separated the displayed junk food from the street. Every bit of rust carries the nostalgia of all the years the store has stood there. On your way home, you started to appreciate the art found in the colorful jeepneys that drive you home every day. Each one carries a unique piece of Filipino culture. The blue jeepney is painted with plenty of animals with a vibrant, festive design. While the other jeepney had a huge painting of what seemed to be a dominantly brown peacock or an effortful impression of a Philippine Eagle. Despite the smudgy work and the peeling paint, these jeepney artworks carry the Filipino pride while carrying Filipinos home each day. You arrived home and sat still in deep thought and realization after a day spent with the overwhelming ability to notice the unnoticed. This is not just imagination, it is the reality that art is everywhere, with no need for a grand frame or an expensive canvas. Art is not made to be perfect; art is made to be felt.