This week we will begin looking at how activist movements helped to instigate Social Practice in art, and how the relationship between art and activism continues to be a big part of this work.
We will start by reading the beginning of the introduction to What We Made, by Tom Finkelpearl
We will also read “The Art of Activism,” by Stephen Duncombe & Steve Lambert from Truth is Concrete: A Handbook for Artistic Strategies in Real Politics, Sternberg Press, 2014.
Steve & Stephen run the Center for Artistic Activism:
https://artisticactivism.org/
We will also read THESE ARE THE TIMES THAT GROW OUR SOULS, a talk given in 2003 by Grace Lee Boggs at Animating Democracy's National Exchange on Art & Civic Dialogue.
Here is an interview with Grace:
https://onbeing.org/programs/grace-lee-boggs-a-century-in-the-world/
Quotes:
ReplyDelete1. "In a participatory democracy, the political life would be based in several root principles: [...] that politics be seen positively, as the art of collectively creating an acceptable pattern of social relations" (Finkelpearl, 13)
2. "The capacity of young people to make social and political judgments is directly linked to growth in self-confidence that they gain from working with one another and making practical judgments and choices in concrete, mundane activities like gardening, rehabbing houses, painting community murals, repairing bikes" (Boggs, 8)
3. "Rationally, we know these are merely made-up characters, fictive creations of the artist, but emotionally we feel as if the struggles and triumphs of these fictions are ours. Plato doesn't like this. But we do." (Duncombe & Lambert, 32)
Questions:
1. Is it important that social practice involves younger generations just as much or more than older generations?
2. Could there be a way to change arts education in primary schools and the way its viewed by the community if social practice were integrated?
3. (Referring to the Duncombe and Lambert quote and Joseph Beuys' "origin story") What is the value of fiction and/or myth in development and exercising of empathy? Does obsessing over absolute truths make it harder for people to empathize? Does it destroy our ability to interpret symbols?
Quotes
ReplyDelete---
1. “An effective organizational experience is as much an educational process for the organizer as it is for the people with whom he is working.. . . We learn, when we respect the dignity of the people, that they cannot be denied the elementary right to participate fully in the solutions to their own problems. Self-respect arises only out of people who play an active role in solving their own crises and who are not helpless, passive, puppet-like recipients
of private or public service.” Finklepearl, p10 (quote from Saul Alinsky's "Rules for Radicals")
2. "The sublime is something else: it can be beautiful but it can also be horrific; in either case it is beyond direct description, beyond measurement, beyond even comprehension... As mystical as it is, or perhaps because it is so mystical, the sublime is a powerful force because it has the ability to affect us in ways that our conscious minds cannot always caccount for. This makes for potentially powerful politics too... When we are effected, or rather: affected, by a piece of art we often say that it moves us. This motion is good for social change." Duncombe & Lambert p32
3. "Over the years Detroit Summer has demonstrated that the capacity of young people to make social and political judgments is directly linked to the growth in self-confidence that they gain from working with one another and making practical judgments and choices in concrete, mundane activities like gardening, rehabbing houses, painting community murals, repairing bikes." Boggs p8
Questions
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1. Does creating social cooperation art inspired by the social movements described in "What We Made" somehow negatively effect (gentrify, commodify, weaken) the work and meaning of activists continuing the traditions of these movements, especially when many of the projects don't have goals with concrete outcomes? Conversely, in what ways does framing the work as an art practice help?
2. If influencing change is a central tenant of social practice, why aren't more projects aligned with the goals of Artistic Activism? Why is activism a dirty word in the Art World? How does aligning one's practice with activism make people feel?
3. Can social change come from a single time-boxed art project, or does it require something more lasting like Detroit Summer? Boggs is described as an activist, writer, cultural worker, and philosopher but not an artist, is Detroit Summer considered an art project or is it radical community organizing or an alternative art-based education program that empowers the community? Does it matter to make the distinction?
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ReplyDeleteQuotes:
ReplyDeleteTom FinkelPearl - “What We Made”
Alinsky wrote Rules for Radicals (1971), “in which the ethic of mutual growth is clear: “An effective organizational experience is as much an educational process for the organizer as it is for the people with whom he is working.. . . We learn, when we respect the dignity of the people, that they cannot be denied the elementary right to participate fully in the solutions to their own problems. Self-respect arises only out of people who play an active role in solving their own crises and who are not helpless, passive, puppet-like recipients of private or public service.” (p. 10)
Steven Duncombe & Steve Lebbert - “The Art of Activism”
“Making artworks about politics is not the same as making art that works politically. The former aims to, again, raise awareness, while the latter is directed toward changing the world” (p. 27)
“…the most effective reaction is not always the most intuitive. We need to rethink what makes sense” (p. 27)
“Politicization is an affective experience. Activism that aims to build movement purely though rational argument and factual discourse is ineffectual because it runs counter to our own experiences of engagement.” (p. 30)
“If we know that the world we presently love within is the only possible reality, we will not struggle to build another one, Knowledge is what determines the horizons of out imagination.” (p. 32)
“The problem with art, from an activist perspective, is that all this power of the sublime is wasted, sequestered safely away from politics. A painting hands on the wall of a museum. It moves us. And the we move on, learn that experience and its transformative power confined to its”proper” location, to be tapped only by cultural institutions seeking to increase their status or profits. In our world, the sublime is in the service of hierarchy and capitalism.” (p. 33)
“Artistic activism is a hybrid practice combining the aesthetic, process based approach of the arts with the instrumental, outcome focus of activism. It recognizes that in order to shift power you beed to also shift perspectives, and in order to sift perspectives you need to also shift power, Artist activism blends the affective and the effective.” (p. 34)
Grace Lee Boggs - “These are the time that grow our souls”
“Radical social change had to be viewed as a two-sided transformational process, of ourselves and of our institutions, a process requiring protracted struggle and not just a D-Day replacement of one set of rulers with another.” (p. 4)
“It is because our school system deprives children and young people of opportunities to engage in activities like these as a natural and normal part of the curriculum that it is now in such crisis. All too many classrooms have become war zones where teachers can’t teach and children can’t learn because we are still following the “command and control” model created 100 years ago to prepare young people for factory work. .” (p. 8)
Questions:
1. What is the distinction between Artistic Activism as defined and taught by Duncombe, Lambert, and the CAA and social practice? What are some areas of overlap? Areas of separation?
2. Finklepearl references the history of rights movements in the United States in relation to the development of social practice. Is social practice predominately an arena in the U.S? Has it developed in other countries? How might the difference in political and human rights histories alter both the definition and manifestation of social practice art in other parts of the world?
3. To what extent does social practice utilize skills of marketing; using symbols and elements of empathy to influence emotions towards a certain direction/goal? Does considering the fact that artists may utilize the language of consumerism in order to elicit public reaction or engagement feel contradictory in anyway to the practice?
-Kayla
QUOTES
ReplyDeleteLee Boggs, page 7:
“Public art, created within a community context, bringing together gifted artists, with community members of all generations, provides a means of recreating community bonds. From those bonds, new energies emerge, creating new connections, instigating new changes.”
Lee Boggs reading, Dig by Angela Jones, page 10:
“And you can’t find freedom from a flag
You have to dig for it”
Finkelpearl, page 10:
“...Alinsky wrote Rules for Radicals (1971), in which the ethic of mutual growth is clear: “An effective organizational experience is as much an educational process for the organizer as it is for the people with whom he is working...We learn, when we respect the dignity of the people, that they cannot be denied the elementary right to participate fully in the solutions to their own problems.
Finkelpearl, page 11:
“[Arnstein] lays out a hierarchy of forms of ‘citizen participation,’ starting at the bottom with the least desirable approach and ascending to the most desirable at the top:
8. Citizen Control
7. Delegated Power
6. Partnership
5. Placation
4. Consultation
3. Informing
2. Therapy
Manipulation
QUESTIONS:
Do artists find Arnstein’s hierarchy from 1969 a relevant framework to their practice, or is it found to be a hindrance or unrelatable?
What does success look like for the artists in the room when considering activism within artistic practice? Does the weight shift if press is in the other sections of the paper and not in the arts?
Finkelpearl references the social movements in America in the sixties to the strategies and make-up prevalent in so much of social cooperative work. How does that relate to other parts of the world? Are there similar historical contexts? Are there other influences to consider linearly? How has colonialism contributed to it? (Would love to consider this with the group but can do some research.)
-Roshani
Oh I have one more question that may be a better question:
DeleteWhat does the ideal relationship look like between an artist doing community-engaged art and art institutions? What do the wants and needs look like?
In doing this kind of art as activism/activist art, how do you establish a balance between your own voice as an individual, and the desire to in some way speak to a certain collective view point or vision? Furthermore, how do you do this without claiming to speak FOR anyone else?
ReplyDeleteIs there a place in Grace Lee Boggs’ vision for confrontational/oppositional tactics?
How would Grace Lee Boggs advocate responding to a challenging and emotionally charged situation like a police officer shooting an unarmed African American? Can the lessons of the Montgomery Bus Boycott apply here, and if so, how? Does art/creative practice have a role to play, and what would that look like?
“In this period we need artists to create new images that will liberate us from our preoccupation with constantly expanding production and consumption and open up space in our hearts and minds to imagine and create another America that will be viewed by the world as a beacon rather than as a danger.” Grace Lee Boggs (pg. 3)
“Making artwork about politics is not the same as making art that works politically. The former aims to raise awareness, while the latter is directed toward changing the world.” –Duncombe and Lambert (pg. 27)
“Where will we get the imagination, the courage, and the determination to reconceptualize the meaning and purpose of work in a society that is becoming increasingly jobless?” –Grace Lee Boggs (pg. 1)
QUOTES:
ReplyDeleteFinkelpearl
"Alinsky wrote Rules for Radicals (1971), “in which the ethic of mutual growth is clear: “An effective organizational experience is as much an educational process for the organizer as it is for the people with whom he is working.. . . We learn, when we respect the dignity of the people, that they cannot be denied the elementary right to participate fully in the solutions to their own problems. Self-respect arises only out of people who play an active role in solving their own crises and who are not helpless, passive, puppet-like recipients of private or public service. ” p10
Duncombe/Lambert
"Making artworks about politics is not the same as making art that works politically. The former aims to, again, raise awareness, while the latter is directed toward changing the world” p27
“The problem with art, from an activist perspective, is that all this power of the sublime is wasted, sequestered safely away from politics. A painting hands on the wall of a museum. It moves us. And the we move on, learn that experience and its transformative power confined to its”proper” location, to be tapped only by cultural institutions seeking to increase their status or profits. In our world, the sublime is in the service of hierarchy and capitalism.” p. 33
Boggs
"How are we going to make our livings in an age when hi-tech and the export of jobs overseas have brought us to the point where the number of workers needed to produce goods and services is constantly diminishing? Where will we get the imagination, the courage, and the determination to reconceptualize the meaning and purpose of work in a society that is becoming increasingly jobless?" p1
"In this period we need artists to create new images that will liberate us from our preoccupation with constantly expanding production and consumption and open up space in our hearts and minds to imagine and create another America that will be viewed by the world as a beacon rather than as a danger." p3
QUESTIONS:
There has been a lot of discussion about the affective-ness and the effectiveness of social practice art, but how is this impact measured and how is the success of the project established?
Response to Boggs initial set of questions (p1-3): And how are we going to support people in rural areas that are growing more and more isolated because of the mechanization of agriculture, creating farmers who no longer are surrounded by communities and are now without children, schools, teachers, grocery stores, workers, health care access and even local news coverage? There has been so much discussion about the urban/rural divide but as someone living in a rural community I wonder if/how this particular issue is being address? And by who?
Duncombe/Lambert states that "Knowledge is what determines the horizons of our imagination." And Boggs states that "Imagination is more important than knowledge." If both are true (which I believe is possible, we do not live in a binary world), how to we create an education system that fosters knowledge and creativity concurrently - each given equal weight and equal power? And how do we foster that philosophical equity in our own minds?
Another QUOTE:
DeleteBoggs
"To become truly human and to really know truth, people were discovering the value of
summoning up all our mental and spiritual resources, constantly expanding our imaginations, sensitivities, and capacity for wonder and love, for hope rather than despair, for compassion and cooperation rather than cynicism and competition, for spiritual aspiration and moral effort. Instead of either/or, reductive, dualistic, and divisive or “blaming the other” thinking, this movement affirmed the unity of mind and body and of the spiritual with the material. It advocated a consciousness that rejects determinism or the belief that we are limited by the past that repudiates all absolutes, that finds joy in crossing boundaries, that is naturalistic instead of supernatural, and that strives for empowerment rather than power and control." -p4/5
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI was just listening to Krista Tippet's interview with Boggs and I am inspired to share a few fantastic quotes. I could actually quote the WHOLE interview but I'll start here:
ReplyDeleteBogg's paraphrasing of philosopher Hagel @9min mark:
"Progress does not take place like a shot out of a pistol. It takes the labor and suffering of the negative. How to use the negative as a way to enhance the positive is our challenge."
Revolution / Evolution. "A rebellion is to blow something apart but a revolution is a leap forward."
"Whereas the rebellions of the 1960's focused a lot around the empowerment of individual entities, for women, for African Americans. What we are undergoing now is developing a new kind of human identity."
@18min30:
"To have lost our ties with one another, to have become strangers and even enemies of one another, competitors, we have lost a lot of our spirit. We have so much to rediscover. There are so many creative energies that are a part of human histories that have been lost because we have been persuing the all mighty dollar. We haven't recognized at what expense. The expense not only of the earth, not only of people of color but of our own souls. We no longer recognize that we have the capacity within us to create the world anew."
Quotes
ReplyDeleteThe Art of Activism: Dumcombe, Lambert (34)
“It’s just that we are never going to get people to read our facts or understand the truth, unless they desire to read the facts and are attracted to the truth in the first place.”
“…the most successful artistic activists in history were the Nazis.”
These are the times that grow our souls: Boggs (2)
“Or are we so locked in nationalism, racism, and determination that we will be driven to seek scapgoats for our frustrations and failures…”
“At the same time, the various identity struggles, while remediating to some degree the wrongs that have been done to workers; African Americans, Native Americans, and other people of color; women, gays, and lesbians; and the disabled, and while helping to humanize our society overall, have also had a shadow side in the sense that they have encouraged us to think of ourselves more as determined that as self-determined, more as victims of “isms…”
The art of social cooperation: Tom Finkelpearl (14, 15)
“In some cases the results were well-planned tactical media events, while others were free-form “be-ins.” Many of these collectively imagined actions allowed onlookers to become involved. “If observers of the drama are allowed to interpret the act, they will become participants themselves…The concept of mass spectacle, everyday language, and easily recognized symbols was important to get public involvement.”
Questions
In The art of activism do the authors literally mean, “the most successful artistic activists in history were the Nazis?” What constitutes “artistic activists” in view of the Nazi reference?
Do we continue to see ourselves as victims of “isms” in 2017 in light of Boggs’ statement in 2003?
In so-called “tactical media events,” should the observer/onlooker be allowed to interpret the act, or should there be more control of the “drama?”
Questions and Quotes Grace lee bogs
ReplyDeleteFor example, most reject the getting and spending that not only lay waste our own powers but put intolerable
pressures on the environment. They try to eat home-grown rather than processed foods, maintain physical well-being
through healthy habits rather than by dependence on prescription drugs, try to make livings in ways that are in
harmony with their convictions.
If I want to live in this way can I call it art? Is there really anyone other than Clement who can tell me no?
Quote and Question Finklepearl
Alinsky does not deny the community organizers pivotal role, especially at the initial stages of mobilization, but he insists the the action must come from the people themselves.
If this is true, then why is the artist failingly architecting suggestions of this and claiming it as activism? Why is there such intense critique of work that departs from capitalistic systems and from being a slave to aesthetic taste, instead leaning towards genuine engagement?
Quote and Question the steves
After Roshani critiqued the reading for self immolating through critique of activist’s pamphlets and the appeal through text and ideas and not action I can no longer take the ideas expressed in this text seriously.
If one rejects the text as a form of activists rebellion, does it still count as academic exploration?