Art in the Age of Information and Globalization,
‒and in an Era of Populism

In a time of globalization, fundamentalism, populism, hypercapitalism, migration, war on terror, and global warming, artistic commitment is crucial.

Meanwhile, it seems that the whole world is in the very early stages of a paradigm shift. These shifts are occurring in many of the world’s most basic elements and redefine the way life functions and lead to a growing decentralization movement in which the power controls of society are taken from a minority and handed over to the majority. We are in the early stages of a revolutionary paradigm shift in the consciousness of the masses that can really change society for the better. Here are four key signs:

– The Internet is giving birth to a new Age of Information, as people become more receptive and vigilant to what is actually happening in the world. A wealth of information is now available to who knows where to look. In a matter of minutes, people can now learn new skills or hear different versions of the truth. The Internet not only provides open access to information, but communication has become almost instantaneous throughout the world. In addition, through the new vibrant virtual culture, art has found new forms of expression and has acquired new perspectives. As social media allow for mass cultural exchange and intercultural communication, it is also a golden age of opportunities for artists and creative people. Relying on contemporary understandings of cross- and intercultural practices in the arts, artists and creatives can explore the nature of collaboration across or between artistic media and across or between cultures, also on a social media, such as Facebook, for instance.

– A new understanding of a world of abundance is beginning to take root in the minds of the people, as they are finally awaking to the fact that with the adoption of renewable energies, new forms of decentralized government and economics, and increased use of technological capabilities, resources are more than sufficient to meet people’s needs in the world. People are finally awaking to the fact that there is enough to go around, but just not with the current systems in place. No one claims that there is enough resources for everyone to live at current Western consumption rates, yet as Gandhi said: “The world has enough for every man’s needs, but not for every man’s greed.” A new awareness and openness to plurality is also a committed way to foster collaborations in the arts in cross- and intercultural interactions.

– A global shift in consciousness is in progress, in which people start to see themselves no longer as individuals vegetating in an isolated bubble, but rather as connected elements in the collective consciousness of planet Earth. The Internet, along with the increased capacity for travel, has allowed people from all over the world to connect. Countless areas of global society have become interconnected, and people begin to pay attention not only to their own country, but also to countries abroad. Many begin to realize that one group of people suffering means everyone is suffering. People begin to connect emotionally with life all over the world and not just their immediate home and surroundings. This new reality is showing people that there is more to life than money, as connection to all living beings is equally, if not more, valuable. Dynamic contemporary artistic practices that connect with globalized consciousness may become the next revolution in art, a new wave of art for a world of a new kind. By engaging in cross- and intercultural collaborative processes, dialogue and exchange are made explicit and valued. Such collaborative processes between artists may be challenging but they are rewarding as they engender personal transformation, artistic growth and the possibility of influencing a wider social and political arena.

– The ascent of the independent, non-corporate online media, as alternative media has become an increasingly popular choice for those wishing to remain truly informed, especially younger generations. While mainstream news is still the number one source of current world events for the masses, the tide is changing slowly, as people are awakening to the fact that corporate sponsored media are essentially propaganda and half-truths. War is becoming much more difficult to justify, as independent journalists have shed light on what the authorities always have been reluctant to disclose to the public. A prime example is the conflict in Syria. This new faction of journalism will give peace a legitimate chance, as all dirty laundry is now being aired and corrupt alliances are exposed. This, in turn, has allowed many people to deprogram themselves from the countless media they have taken in over the years, and see the world through a clearer lens in which the truth is more evident.

A paradigm shift can literally shake a society to its core, take it off its current path and put it on a brand new one. Today’s shifts are becoming a force of their own and are de facto also changing all circumstances of art. They are paving the way for new forms of art activism to set the stage for innovative artistic practices and opportunities. The artists must demonstrate their creative abilities, their human, social and political commitment, with emphasis on innovation and experimentation, not only in a culture’s art, but also in cross- and intercultural collaborative projects.

Collaboration across artistic media, on a cross- or intercultural basis, must be understood as processes of co-creation in various artistic practices, as it involves artists from different cultures who work together to create or achieve a common goal. It also involves common understandings and purposes and encompasses knowledge from diverse cultural sources, different artistic media or multiple perspectives. This form of collaboration thus involves the exchange of information and the sharing of unique processes for art making and research in different cultures and different artistic media, such as visual art, plastic art, design, music, sound composition,  theater, dance, etc.

However, new humanist ideologies and new ethical dimensions are still to be created today.

The 60s and 70s were a time of social upheaval and cultural change, people became free-thinkers, were more inclined to speak out against the status quo, and also became more self-aware and self-reliant, questioning government, established structures and belief systems, and demanding that their voices be heard. The artists of the postmodern era were anti-authoritative and exalted by nurture, they refused to recognize the authority of a single style or definition of what art should be. Their art collapsed the distinction between high culture and mass or folk culture and it tended to get rid of the boundary between art and everyday life. Postmodern artists are distinguished by their self-assured use of earlier styles and conventions and an eclectic mixture of different artistic and popular styles and media.

Today the artists are experiencing one disappointment after another, their faith in art and their inner flame are extinct, their protest and resistance, which were justified in the past, are now obsolete. Between the commercial arts, the vulgarization of concepts, the pseudo-intellectualization of certain mediocre arts and the disillusionment with regard to the various structures, belief systems and ideologies, artists are confronted with new challenges. They must face a hitherto unknown adversity and challenge a world in full mutation, engulfed in mainstream opinions, contradictions and incompatibilities, disinformation and manipulation, social insecurities, and even political diktats of a new kind.

A lingering economical crisis and the challenge of the migratory crisis have brought nationalism and fundamentalism back to the surface of the planet. The rise of populism is beginning to become a real threat to society, for it is becoming an increasingly powerful political force. Today’s populist surge seems to be a response to the apparent political failure of the established parties. Increasingly, it is also an emotional backlash to a sense of disenfranchisement from these institutionalized powers. Identifying the problem, however, the core issues that lie at the root of populism are ignorance, racism, xenophobia, fear of the unknown or fear of cultural changes.

The duty of art is sometimes to find answers, but most of the time art can not confront and defeat the political and economic “super machine” that controls the populations and imposes its diktats, its dogmatic or authoritarian statements. The real challenge and genuine activism of art today will be to break the chains, to escape the boundaries imposed by a kind of “change of game” in society, to emerge from the classical egoistic attitude and to imagine a renewal of art, from a much more open and innovative perspective.

There is an obvious need for new forms of art activism. The artists must use the experience of today’s shifts in preparing and participating in the transformation of social life on a non-politicized and non-discriminatory basis, which is conducive to a revealing and enlightening art. Artists have to leave their cellar and “return the hope of a future to the world”. Artists must create conditions in which real actions that restore the true ethical dimension become the action guide for young artists. The ethics of real action should become our future aesthetic. Artists must contribute to the learning process in order to open their minds and provide their expertise for the services of building a new society open to a world shaped in diversity.

In addition to the indispensable obligation to denounce the new policy of hatred, which is now spreading like gangrene, art must also become a pedagogical path and an ethical apprenticeship to combat and disrupt ignorance and to adopt a philosophy of exchange and openness to cultural diversity. All forms of artistic expression must find their true advantages in a true globalization, in its noblest sense. The commitment of the artists to their work and the maintaining of standards of excellence are a strong force to sustain such collaborations and to promote projects. Artists and all those involved in culture must explore new horizons in other communities, countries and cultures, and show through their work that a humanist approach is beneficial and prolific for all of us, and could even create a higher value in art.

Collaborations between artists of all artistic disciplines and cultures can help the artists and the society in which they live, not only to find more creative inputs, but also to foster tolerance, combat ignorance and to prove that exchange is the promise of a better future, since they contribute to create a universality of a new kind.

Latvian violinist Guidon Kremer recently launched a multi-media project in Berlin that was broadcast live on the Internet: his orchestra Kremerata Baltica gave a concert with the screening of an animation film showing the pebble stone sculptures of the Syrian artist Nizar Ali Badr. Although he never met Nizar Ali Badr himself, they were able to work together, Gidon Kremer explains: “He and I speak the same language.” These two arts merged, the music and the visual creation of two different artists from two different places in the world suddenly took on a deeper dimension. Here a Syrian artist could listen to the creativity from Germany, while a Latvian musician could see the creativity coming from Syria. (“Pictures from the East” : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJ7HC7zgDSg).

Given this example, there are really a million opportunities and ways to explore. Let us imagine artists from diverse artistic disciplines and different countries, cultures and religions (or without religion) who engage in the frequent production of art by creating pluricultural works with many hands, but with one heart and soul. The results would not only be extremely exciting, original, more consolidated, more universal, but also extremely enriching on a human level.

In the dangerous climate of intolerance and open hostility today, in these extremely critical and uncertain times, it is the duty of artists and art curators not to flee backward in introspection and depression, but to promote a collective, versatile and polycultural art; an art that would be a response to populism and negativism by reinventing social interactions and multicultural relationships, thus building a bridge of true dialogue.

Art itself could become an ideology, a new one that would contain all universal values in the search for a better future, since human flourishing is the highest good of human endeavors. The artistic collaboration in cross- and intercultural exchange should become a “New Wave of Art” as it could become a new kind of artistic activism against populism, fundamentalism, negativism, disastrous diktats or stereotypes.

Essay by Khaled Youssef & Danii Kessjan
English version: Danii Kessjan

A Colorful Humanism

Inventing figures that evade the classical vision, reflecting the everyday life and the human spirit, joy, sadness, violence and hope without time or space limitations, breaking the imposed framework in order to achieve a universe peculiar to himself, while maintaining a civic and humanistic connection with today’s world, such are the impressions that the art of Yaser Safi offers to the viewer: an art that breathes and blows a wind of freedom.