The Democratization of Art

The video of Peer Clahsen’s PlayArt object “angular” by Azalea Lee illustrates a phenomenon that is unique to PlayArt: All the players in the video become artists. They are busy with this object, which is clearly an artistic medium for the players. During their play, they make all kinds of artistic decisions about composition and rhythm, about balance and contrast, about visual impact and personal preference. Some of the other PlayArt videos also give an indication of such artistic activities, but this video stands out since it shows the players in action, their tentative attempts, their hilarious crashes and their victorious creations. It also highlights the numerous different approaches of a fairly large number of players. The video draws the viewer in by showing their movements, gestures, their facial expressions, and their emotional reactions. The event unfolds as a joyful experience of a range of individual and personal expressions; in short we witness the playful creativity of a mixed group of laypeople who turned into artists through a very simple device, the play object of Peer Clahsen.

Peer is a member of the PlayArt movement, and it is this movement that is pushing the art world forward on various fronts. The introduction of play into the realm of art is one of its major accomplishments. The creative participation of the viewer literally represents a breakthrough and creates an entirely new and different domain in art. Both of these innovations were inconceivable a short time ago. They are, still today, a serious irritant in the conservative world of most art museums. The concept “Everyone is an artist” has a history, but it is by no means an accepted point of view.

Novalis (1772-1801), a German poet and novelist of the romantic period wrote: 
          “Every person is meant to be an artist.” 
This was an idealistic vision and quite characteristic of Romanticism. All of humanity was entitled to escape the drudgery of submissive work and participate in a life of culture. It was an essential part of being human.

Joseph Beuys (1921-1986) was aware of the ideas of Novalis and repeatedly stated:
          “Everyone is an artist.”
It actually became Beuys’ most famous phrase. But it also became somewhat controversial and was frequently re-interpreted such as:
[The phrase] was not meant to suggest that all people should or could be creators of traditional artworks. Rather, he meant that we should not see creativity as the special realm of artists, but that everyone should apply creative thinking in their own area of specialization.
           Joan Rothfuss, curator at the Walker Art Center.
While Beuys also concerned himself with creativity in general, he meant exactly what he said. In fact this concept was such a driving force in his career that he notoriously abolished entry requirements to his Düsseldorf art class.

The most recent, groundbreaking event in these developments was the video competition the Guggenheim Museum organized in collaboration with YouTube (2010). The worldwide contest was open to “everyone” and it carried the name “Play Biennial”. This name is a significant sign of a change in attitude, since the name PlayArt has previously encountered strong objections in the museum world. The most outstanding and innovative accomplishment, however, is that a major museum opened its closely guarded space for the first time in a democratic fashion to everyone.  The curators were in fact prepared to evaluate literally any kind of output, including so-called “hacker crap”. At any rate, the museum came very close to the vision of Novalis and Beuys. Remarkably, it also announced: “We are interested in what’s next.”  This is a strong indication that these recent developments will continue into the future.

An additional new phenomenon that points in the direction of democratization is the daring concept of students and laypeople curating art shows. Such events have taken place on numerous occasions and have already influenced our cultural reality. It remains to be seen how all these developments will take shape. Under the umbrella of PlayArt they create a groundbreaking and revolutionary phenomenon. PlayArt is not just another art form like pop art or minimalism, it creates an entirely new paradigm for art, which corresponds to the immense evolutionary step when life emerged out of the water and conquered land.

Ernst Lurker
2010  

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See video

Comments

#1 PlayArt by Students at the Parrish Art Museum, Southampton, NY

Submitted by Andrea Grover on Tue, 01/03/2012 - 18:59.
 

Variable Faces

#2 Excerpt from the art magazine Art in America

Submitted by eisenhar on Sat, 05/14/2011 - 08:00.

Excerpt from the article EVERYONE’S A CRITIC (OR CURATOR) in the art magazine Art in America by Stephanie Cash, May 2011:

Now not only are bloggers (expert and otherwise) and respondents weighing in on the Internet, but NBA players and Average Joes are being asked to “curate” exhibitions or, as with ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, Mich., vote for the winner of a $250,000 prize for best artwork. The Brooklyn Museum’s upcoming “community-friendly” programming includes “Split Second: Indian Paintings” (July 13-Dec. 31). ...It will feature 10 works that generated the most response from an interactive feature posted on the museum’s website. And over three million online votes will determine the content of the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s show “The Art of Video Games,” opening in March 2012.

Is crowdsourcing in the arts a good thing? Will the democratization of taste/opinion  kill the art expert? Or will it engage the public in a way that can only benefit the arts in the long run?

#3 Excerpt from a Playboy Interview, January 2011

Submitted by Ernst Lurker on Tue, 04/05/2011 - 08:08.

Those who say only artists and architects can create ... are elitist. We should celebrate variety rather than conformity and allow people to express themselves. That we don’t is more of our denial, (98% of the buildings we live in are boxes, which tells me that a lot of people are in denial). We deny our nature to build and create and then wonder why there is so much alienation and dissatisfaction. Everyone has a desire, if not a need, to use their individual signatures. Whenever people meet to talk about a project, even stuffy old businessmen, they say they want to create something new. Insurance executives go to a retreat and what do they talk about? “How do we make things better?” The experts come in and have everyone free-associate. They call it play - “Let’s play around with this idea.” We’re wired that way from childhood. Childhood play is nothing more than an expression of our individuality and preparation for human interaction. Everybody’s an artist. Unfortunately we don’t treat them as such.

Frank Gehry
January 2011

#4 Your Essay

Submitted by Peer Clahsen on Mon, 09/13/2010 - 10:26.

 

Ernst,

 

Thank you for your truly significant essay which seems to have condensed our thousands of thoughts, talks, letters, observations, and last but not least, your own experiences and those of the rest of the PlayArt community. It establishes the main point, the democratizing of art. At an age of progressive humanization, but also of increasing violence, there is a process underway which we can view as a consciousness raising of the planet through play that goes beyond the usual utilitarian thinking and which can be viewed as the ultimate equalization amongst the various cultures.

 

Play, says Goethe, reveals the great freedom of the spirit. He forgot to add, that it is the hands as the true performing organs of play that create culture and thus give meaning to the entire history of humanity.

 

Human rights imply human obligations. The protection of the world heritage does not only apply to the natural and cultural heritage of humanity, but it also means to ensure the continued maintenance through constant stimulation. What good are thirty Stradivarius violins in a climate controlled collection if they are not being played? What’s the point of a PlayArt object in a glass showcase, if it does not get experienced with joy in manual play, thereby allowing the unlocking of its secrets and arriving at a personal state of freedom and cheerful tranquility. Apart from the constitution and the human rights, the world heritage of play is perhaps the most extensive library of world culture and the most worthy of protection.

 

PeerClahsen

 September 2010 

#5 Dear Mr. Clahsen, Your

Submitted by Rolf Eggert on Sat, 10/23/2010 - 04:07.

Dear Mr. Clahsen,
Your remarks are interesting and thought provoking, especially your reference to the relevance of the hands. However, I am unable to relate to the idea that the hand is the ultimate organ for the creation of culture. This discredits all those who produce art and culture such as singers, actors, philosophers, poets and “players of the mind,” to those who don’t contribute to culture because they don’t need their hands to express themselves. This is without question absurd.