How do we define our age?
This age of post modernism.
I recently watched a YouTube lecture that was given with respect to the idea that people do not necessarily buy what you do, they buy why you do it. The speaker made some very compelling points which led me to today's topic.
We live in an age that is fraught with confusion. Politically our country seems separated into two distinct parts. One side versus the other, one set of postulates versus another. Among this maelstrom our society and culture is yearning for meaning. Is there any way that art can be brought into the fold as a catalyst for change? From Soren Kierkegaard to Aristotle many of the great thinkers have made the assertion that a life that is unexamined is not worth living. As important as it is that Apple Corporation be able to define why it makes iPads, it is also important for individuals to assess intelligently why it is that they produce art and ultimately the largest question of all, which is, why do they exist on the earth?
Art historian Suzi Gablik his written about the subject of art and meaning, and human values for many decades. Her work is invaluable to those who seek the larger questions of life and the role in which art finds itself. Her seminal work, which is called Has Modernism Failed? ,was written in 1984. At only 128 pages in length it struck me as a book that packs an immense punch for its ability to get an individual to think and reason about the role in which art finds itself in our current culture. It opens more questions than it resolves but what it does is to get the reader to begin to ponder some very important points with respect to traditional visual arts versus the avant-garde. The existential nihilism and the commoditization of art in our society have made impotent those whose voices truly need to be heard. I believe what Gablik essentially wants to impart to her audience is that they need to be able to define what it is that their work means and to think deeply about how it can affect society in a affirmative way. To say that art is just for art's sake and to postulate that what is most important is the freedom to produce our work only to satisfy ourselves is to negate our humanity. The fact that we live on this earth with others in a community that should espouse works of love gives us a much greater responsibility than what modernism has placed upon us. These questions will not be left in an abeyance as a curiosity. As an artistic community worldwide each individual artist needs to establish a firm foundation for their thoughts, their beliefs and their purpose. Next week I will discuss two artists in particular and the ways that their work has helped promote social examination as well as change.