The bourgeoisie is alive and well. So are their downtrodden serfs: Y'know, those who are so used to being told what to do that they no longer know what they want to do. Such ambitionless people are open to exploitation. And people in 'survival mode' are the least capable of any ambition.
Clearly we need to encourage the powerless to be powerful. But where does this begin? Where does self-empowerment and risen consciousness take its root?The powerless, from within themselves, must produce great artists - and indeed they do. But let us sing louder praises for these artists of the resistance.
These artists are spontaneous, true, genuine, and they are the voice of the people, not only through their actual art, but also in their very being. The greatest of rebels is not the activist, nor the petty criminal. It is the artist.
The artists of the powerful create meaningless art. Such drivel exists only to demonstrate their decadence, and thus power. Modernist abstract art is the height of this. It is perfect for the corporate world, which thrives on meaninglessness, telling goalless people what to do. The artists of the powerful create whatever they are told, or whatever they think is going to sell. This is the art of authority. 'Art for art's sake', it is really 'art for the status quo's sake'.
The artists of the resistance are soul-enthused with a desire for change. They are the only ones capable of expression for they have something very urgent to express: 'We are in the shit, we don't want to be in it!'
This they express not through appeals to pity, but through encouragement to magnificence. And they are exemplars of this magnificence, for they will spend more time on art, and less on mere survival. This is how genius is born - through self-sacrifice and questing into realms of heroic discomfort. Those who truly succeed in life will push forward with their goals even when they aren't totally secure; they will risk losing 'normality' for a passionate project.
Clearly we need to encourage the powerless to be powerful. But where does this begin? Where does self-empowerment and risen consciousness take its root?The powerless, from within themselves, must produce great artists - and indeed they do. But let us sing louder praises for these artists of the resistance.
These artists are spontaneous, true, genuine, and they are the voice of the people, not only through their actual art, but also in their very being. The greatest of rebels is not the activist, nor the petty criminal. It is the artist.
The artists of the powerful create meaningless art. Such drivel exists only to demonstrate their decadence, and thus power. Modernist abstract art is the height of this. It is perfect for the corporate world, which thrives on meaninglessness, telling goalless people what to do. The artists of the powerful create whatever they are told, or whatever they think is going to sell. This is the art of authority. 'Art for art's sake', it is really 'art for the status quo's sake'.
The artists of the resistance are soul-enthused with a desire for change. They are the only ones capable of expression for they have something very urgent to express: 'We are in the shit, we don't want to be in it!'
This they express not through appeals to pity, but through encouragement to magnificence. And they are exemplars of this magnificence, for they will spend more time on art, and less on mere survival. This is how genius is born - through self-sacrifice and questing into realms of heroic discomfort. Those who truly succeed in life will push forward with their goals even when they aren't totally secure; they will risk losing 'normality' for a passionate project.
The artists of the resistance 'humanize' all of us who are powerless. The best means of melting the unequal distribution of power in society is not to blandly show how much we are suffering all the time: that makes us look weak and pathetic. It is much better to show that we are not a different species to the bourgeoisie; that we are creative and that we have decadent moments. It is only by simplifying us, the powerless, that they can exploit us with a clear conscience. Dehumanization is impossible when art is flowing. The full flowering complexity of a person is best expressed by their art, their stories, their creativity. But even though we can be decadent, we are better than our 'rulers', because we do not crush others for our own benefit. We crush a few for the benefit of all! Our artistic decadence is in the service of civilization, and never will we allow it to devolve into their monstrous and cynical crap.
The underclass - all of us who are not of a ruling class - need pride (individualistic and collective) to be recognised as human beings, and the herald of this pride is the artist. The art is not directly useful to our survival, but shows that we are civilized and capable, intelligent and creative, colourful and human. Even on the brink of poverty one can still be a patron of philosophy and art and music. To be poor and artistic is to demonstrate more of a belief in these things as pure entities. For the rich being involved in the arts does not involve living in poverty. That is what makes poorer purer, we must live ideals, we must make more sacrifices, we must live things as ends in themselves.
A fine example to conclude with are the sapeurs of Congo. These enterprising souls, surrounded by desperate circumstances and less-than-ideal infrastructure, stand out like colourful beacons of hope. To show pictures of the Congolese suffering, or pleas for aid and assistance, does not make us fully recognise them as people. It removes them from our sphere of experience and makes them something abstract. But a sapeur, magnificent as a peacock, by his singular example demonstrates an artistic aspect of humanity we would not expect from such circumstances. He shows us that the Congolese have the same desires, vices and virtues that we do; that they are just as creative and capable, and this makes us realize our common humanity. So don't go around saying artists and philosophers and the like are useless. They can save the world, and they do it by the effortless means of their very existence.
The underclass - all of us who are not of a ruling class - need pride (individualistic and collective) to be recognised as human beings, and the herald of this pride is the artist. The art is not directly useful to our survival, but shows that we are civilized and capable, intelligent and creative, colourful and human. Even on the brink of poverty one can still be a patron of philosophy and art and music. To be poor and artistic is to demonstrate more of a belief in these things as pure entities. For the rich being involved in the arts does not involve living in poverty. That is what makes poorer purer, we must live ideals, we must make more sacrifices, we must live things as ends in themselves.
A fine example to conclude with are the sapeurs of Congo. These enterprising souls, surrounded by desperate circumstances and less-than-ideal infrastructure, stand out like colourful beacons of hope. To show pictures of the Congolese suffering, or pleas for aid and assistance, does not make us fully recognise them as people. It removes them from our sphere of experience and makes them something abstract. But a sapeur, magnificent as a peacock, by his singular example demonstrates an artistic aspect of humanity we would not expect from such circumstances. He shows us that the Congolese have the same desires, vices and virtues that we do; that they are just as creative and capable, and this makes us realize our common humanity. So don't go around saying artists and philosophers and the like are useless. They can save the world, and they do it by the effortless means of their very existence.
