"Art is not a matter of giving people a little pleasure in their time off.....It is in the long run a matter of holding together a civilization."
David Pye
that is an interesting question.
i have no idea if and when art keeps the whole society together, but i have some interesting experience in this respect. at the end of the eighties and beginning of the nineties i visited san fransisco several times and met a number of people, among who ann hatch, tom marioni, david ireland, robert irwin, james turrel. i even visted their homes, which was and still is and interesting experience.
i also visited demonstration-performances so to say in the new performace gallery in san fransisco, among others by ann halprin and ellen webb. ann halprin told of her visit to an indian ceremony where the whole audience has to help the dancers to perform their spring ritual. all visitors were part of the event and therefore had to work to perform the ceremony so that the group of indians would have a fruitful year. the audience was part of the ceremony and their was no way a visitor could just sit there and watch, without participating. i guess that the later danceworks of ann halprin and ellen webb was influenced by these experiences as well, like for example the circle the earth events.
i learnt a lot from that experience and see this as an important issue in my work. i realised in 1996, in turku in finland a transparant house, which raised a dialogue, in which many inhabitants of turku particpated, about art, about poilitics, culture etc, which brought people together and made them work together in a very pleasant way.and in that sense the prject was made by very many and brought many people from many arftinstitutes together again in a productive way and not anymore in a competitive battle for the not sufficient amount of money they were apllying for.
i am working on a project in rotterdam on this moment, a fisherman. all parts of the project are realised by students as part of their training proces. everything needed for the project (computer calculations, steelbending, cutting, welding, transport by helicopter, website, barbecue) all is done by students as part of the many trainingsprograms of the many different professional schools here in rotterdam.
in a city with people from 162 nationalities, with big debates about the islam and western society, a project like this offers a lot of fun and an interesting road for youngsters of very different backgrounds, cultures, nationalities, lifestyles etc. to work together and get something special done. we are working hard to get the project realised this year.
if that holds society together is not my issue. it brings peole together, lets them work together and hopefully after 10 years makes it possible for them to look back and say that was fun. if that happens it was a good project.
see