Carlo Aranton Sold at Auction Prices

Carlo Aranton (b. 1988) FF M4A1 MWS (Modular Weapon System), 2013

From playthings to killing tools. The guns and swords improvised from harmless materials used as toys (like this one made of wood blocks and joined together by dowels) take on sinister dimensions when these children, mostly boys, grow up to be men. Even as a child, he could not differentiate the real carelessly left around the house, and pull the trigger in a make-believe cowboy-and-Red Indians game, leading to tragedy. A modular weapon system (MWS) is a rifle with components to reconfigure a weapon’s capabilities. This is part of a larger series, Art Trek, started in 2007. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, global military spending in 2018 rose to US$1.8 trillion, with the United States far outstripping other countries with its estimated spending for 2020 put at US$989 billion. Its Stealth Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit programme alone cost US$44.75 billion, with each of its plane costing US$2 billion a piece. Carlo Aranton is a finalist of the Philippines’ Shell National Students in 2006 and 2008. He has taken part in Art Fair Philippines since 2013 except for 2014. He graduated with a BFA from the University of the Philippines (2005-2009).