Fumio Nanjo
Brief Thoughts About What We Don't Know About Art...
Brief Thoughts About What We Don't Know About Art...
Various new dimensions will be added to art with the emergence of environmental issues, genetic science, and other developments. Environmental issues include pollution, new energy sources, questions of energy saving, protection of nature, new life systems supported by communication technologies, etc.; it is apparent that the contents of environmental issues are diverse and that many new fields could converge. Moreover, its direction could be very technology-oriented, but also very nature-oriented. If such issues become increasingly serious and detrimental to the existence of human beings, art oriented to such issues will no doubt increase. Genetic science poses significant ethical and philosophical problems. Particularly, it will question the meaning of life, where what we know of as life ends, what constitutes the identity of a person, and the question of manipulating genes to raise so-called "designer children". Some artists have already started creating living creatures as art works by the use of such genetic technology. Whether art should be engaged in such practices then becomes an important issue. If it is allowed, the artist may finally become a God of sorts. Another important subject may become religion, as you already know. Whether we like it or not, religion continues to accumulate huge power, and those who act under the mission of their God or Gods may create conflicts with our current era of global standards. This is a matter of "Transculture", bringing the importance of dialogue back into focus. Yet, at this moment, I do not know what to say after the incidents in NY and Washington. Multicultural perspectives are already quite established in the world of contemporary art, but it seems it is not yet common practice in most of our societies. Works of art in the context of multi-culturalism may also shift towards different directions. Artists might seek new ways to express peace and love as, for instance, Yoko Ono has been doing for many years. Expression itself will become of a more mixed media type, rather than being confined simply to painting or sculpture, because so many new ways of expression are emerging and because anything is possible in art. But I do not say that painting and sculpture will end, simply because they represent such historically rooted forms of expression for human beings. I think that the art of today will become another form of thinking and I hope that it will generate many more people to share in its language. I think art will disappear in the traditional sense, but, on the other hand, everything will become art in human life if you wish it to be ... . Fumio Nanjo Tokyo |
