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[(A Users Guide to Demanding the Impossible * * )] [Author: Various] [Nov-2011]
This guide is not a road map or instruction manual. Its a match struck in the dark, a homemade multi-tool to help collectives carve out their own path through the ruins of the present, warmed by the stories and strategies of those who took Bertolt Brechts words to heart Art is not a mirror held up to reality, but a hammer with which to shape it. It was written over the course of three days by a group of students protesting the government cuts.
- GenresPolitics
Unknown Binding
First published August 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 18, 2016
A quick, inspiring primer on arts activism -- I gave it 4 instead of 5 because it decried capitalism and thus stamped itself with an irksome stereotype: that of the artist being naturally inclined towards liberalism, communism, and related political movements. Art is for all, wherever their political leanings may lie.
Having said that, an astute point was made illuminating the fallacy of relying upon the commercial, capitalist benefit of art. To do so discredits the intangible and largely unquantifiable benefit of its creation. I served on a Houston Arts Alliance city committee in 2013, but was frequently irked by the consistent attempts to translate art into a dollar value, in an attempt to justify its chief source of federal funding from the city's Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT). I could not fully verbalize that frustration until now. The quote emblazoned on p. 4 is a great summary of this conclusion.
P. 25's was beautiful as well: "More information is not going to motivate us to act, neither are representations or pictures of politics, what makes us move is tasting dreams of what could be, stepping into the cracks where another world is coming into view."
I dislike the comparison of art activists to being ridiculous; the "biggest weapons" of such clowns on a stage being "surprise and absurdity" (p. 40). I get that art and activism often seek to provoke the audience, but there are more subtle ways of getting your message across. Aiming for shock value is often what degrades art into the vulgar. Far too often activists are focused solely on the weight of grassroots support as a tipping point, and fail to lure in their opposition -- oftentimes the influential crème de la crème of government -- which, let's face it, are generally the ones calling the shots.
I very much appreciated the inclusion of Oscar Wilde's morally controversial comment on original sin: "Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is man’s original virtue. It is through disobedience and rebellion that progress has been made." (p. 52). I agree, with a grain of salt: Rebellion also impedes progress if it does not have some end, some purpose to enact upon society.
P. 46 is also gorgeous and succinct validation of idealism. I could probably write as many words as this pamphlet contains in my review, but will refrain from doing so!
If you have an extra 10 minutes, I highly encourage you read the full text here:
http://artisticactivism.org/wp-conten...
Having said that, an astute point was made illuminating the fallacy of relying upon the commercial, capitalist benefit of art. To do so discredits the intangible and largely unquantifiable benefit of its creation. I served on a Houston Arts Alliance city committee in 2013, but was frequently irked by the consistent attempts to translate art into a dollar value, in an attempt to justify its chief source of federal funding from the city's Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT). I could not fully verbalize that frustration until now. The quote emblazoned on p. 4 is a great summary of this conclusion.
P. 25's was beautiful as well: "More information is not going to motivate us to act, neither are representations or pictures of politics, what makes us move is tasting dreams of what could be, stepping into the cracks where another world is coming into view."
I dislike the comparison of art activists to being ridiculous; the "biggest weapons" of such clowns on a stage being "surprise and absurdity" (p. 40). I get that art and activism often seek to provoke the audience, but there are more subtle ways of getting your message across. Aiming for shock value is often what degrades art into the vulgar. Far too often activists are focused solely on the weight of grassroots support as a tipping point, and fail to lure in their opposition -- oftentimes the influential crème de la crème of government -- which, let's face it, are generally the ones calling the shots.
I very much appreciated the inclusion of Oscar Wilde's morally controversial comment on original sin: "Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is man’s original virtue. It is through disobedience and rebellion that progress has been made." (p. 52). I agree, with a grain of salt: Rebellion also impedes progress if it does not have some end, some purpose to enact upon society.
P. 46 is also gorgeous and succinct validation of idealism. I could probably write as many words as this pamphlet contains in my review, but will refrain from doing so!
If you have an extra 10 minutes, I highly encourage you read the full text here:
http://artisticactivism.org/wp-conten...
Displaying 1 of 1 review