Can Art Change the World?
Let JR, the French Street Artist share his story and vision with you.
http://www.youtube.com/user/TEDtalksDirector#p/u/2/0PAy1zBtTbw
“In some way art CAN change the world, art isn’t supposed to change the world, to change particular things, but to change the perceptions, art can change the way we see the world, art can create an energy. Actually, the fact that art can’t change things makes it a neutral place to exchanges and discussions – and then, enables it to change the world.”
(( my reflections in double parentheses.))
JR's Words Extracted out of the Video:
"As important as the result, is how you do things."
--result (finished visual product) / how you do things (idea/concept, philosophy, planning, method, execution)
(( Many people who look at art would think art should be visually pleasing, with intricate techniques that not anyone can do, and be really unique - otherwise, why is it art?
Yet if art is only limited to the framework of visual aesthetics, it wouldn't be 'art'.
Art as a wide range of functions... and it's only after learning Art History I began to breakdown my misconceptions
of what art is and start building on the possibilities of what it can be.
The function of art has been evolving for a long time - just like our daily language... rolling along with time,
from purely decorative and visually pleasing to acts of challenging the standards of an era, thought-provoking, expressing opinion, profound in logic and philosophy and meaning... and some without a very complex finished visual product.
“In conceptual art, the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work. When an artist uses a conceptual form of art, it means that all planning and decisions are made beforehand. The execution is a perfunctory affair. The idea becomes the machine that makes the art.” Sol Le Witt - via – Originally quoted from ” Paragraphs on Conceptual Art ” Sol Lewitt – Artforum (June, 1967).
Some people may not consider photography to be art, but I wonder if they understand
the uniqueness and the art of a photograph in the timing, setting, angle, subject(s), choice that has went into the momnet of snapping the camera.
It's best explained by saying the 'art' in conceptual / process art is the process itself.
Already, during the act of execution, the action itself and the process of taking the action condenses all of the
essences of what makes it 'art'.
For an artist like JR - the act of art can be defined by a concept, an idea, a motivation - and that's how he brought his art around the globe, impacting lives. ))
"In the public art project, I don’t choose my artwork anymore, (list of artists names)
Other people’s artworks, it doesn’t matter today whether it’s your photo or not,
The importance is what you do with the images, the statement it makes, where it’s pasted.."
His art project participants say to him: "Please, make our story travel with you."
(( I cannot see a more emotionally-moving type of art than the global arts that connects and impacts us humans so widely. While aesthetically beautiful artworks are also emotionally moving, in my opinion, they cannot nearly carry the same emotional impact and profoundness as the contemporary arts. Resonating with the beauty and awe that viewers experience is a small framework.
Yet with artists like JR and another Chilean artist, Alfredo Jaar, their visions in art crosses knowledge, social, cultural, political etc boundaries - it's like riding on a satellite that surrounds the Earth, understanding the world and its relation to us in that way.
Discovering how a large number of Latin American artists expands their artworks' connection to a global and universal context really touched me. On my trip to Washington D.C. this spring break, I found an inspiring "dialogue" of two featured artists' works in the Smithsonian African Art Museum. ))
Henrique Oliveira left such a statement:
"I don't like much this way that in Europe and North America artists are labeled - a Brazilian artist and not just an artist. I know I am Brazilian and the most clear proof of this is that I cannot speak as an English speaker but always from the outside. The only way I can prevent this is through my work. I think the visual arts can be understood regardless of language. I try to work in this universal language."
(( I cannot help but smile when I see "always from the outside" and feeling a part of me being an outsider at times
in the American environment... even if I'm not as "outside" as Henrique may feel in terms of language ability, there's still some subtle aspects that I feel I'm not "inside" enough. It could be the perspective of my personal shyness/ cultural difference that makes me feel this way.. even now I can only seem to gain some confidence in exchanging thoughts with people similar to my background... either International students, or people in the field of Art History... because when we talk in the same "language", I feel the connection better - and the affiliation helps me feel the wall doesn't exist as thick as I imagined it to be. ))
Art itself is a universal language... whether the work speaks of struggles and emotionalities, communicated in the expressive works of van Gogh and Pollock; or the works by Alfredo Jaar that provokes thoughts by a representation of a map, with the title: "Geography = War"... artists give their works power to communicate with us deeply in different aspects.
The difference lies in whether or not we have to be accquainted with the artists' backgrounds first.
I think for individual artists, there's a need to understand their personal, cultural, social, political backgrounds...
Yet with the type of public/global art project that JR and many Latin American artists are working on, it provides their viewer with an ease to be able to connect more instinctively solely on their own experiences - and often at times, with an extension of imagination on the international issues.
When an art becomes so capable... we're reminded by JR's rhetorical question in the video:
“Can art change the world?”
My view is: If change needs a step, then art could be the step - the inspiration...
What does JR say?
“In some way art CAN change the world, art isn’t supposed to change the world, to change particular things, but to change the perceptions, art can change the way we see the world, art can create an energy. Actually, the fact that art can’t change things makes it a neutral place to exchanges and discussions – and then, enables it to change the world.”
“I wish for you to stand up for what you care about by participating in a global art project, and together we’ll turn the world…INSIDE OUT.”
Hearing JR's words, I'm reminded that all creations need money. Art shouldn’t be something viewed at then left there undone. If it evokes something technically/emotionally striking or pleasing, some support should be given other than the visiting fee, emotional impact within/or expressed/and admiration for the artist.
-turning the world INSIDE OUT with art can help surface the values/issues that have been hidden.
Link if you're interested: Insideoutproject.net
“What we see changes who we are”
-Not just for art. But also on the life level: experiences. people. qualities. Insights.
Link: Tedprize.org
Sandile Zulu, artist featured in Smithsonian African Art Museum (contemporary exhibition)
"As in the nature of every dialogue, the interchange of knowledge, experience and expression leads, at least from a critical point of view, to imagineries of identity, priviledge, power and economic status. These, in turn, bring about a confrontation with greater issues of creativity, art making and the social environment in a global context. But dialogue on a global stage is always a complex proposition. It is this tension and attention that inspired my dialogical premise."
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