Contemporary Art in the ‘Developed’ World
I went to a fascinating talk today by Sylvain Levy about the dsl collection. Although speaking as a collector some of the points he raised were really thought provoking from my perspective as an artist working in the West.
At one point we were asked to put up our hands if we were still shocked by contemporary art, out of a room of about 70 (mostly MA students at Sotheby’s) only four raised their hands. He said that it was partly this apathy in the European art world that led him and his wife to focus on the contemporary art from China. In China, as with most other developing/war torn countries the art can often be far more exciting and engaging. There’s a fury a purposefulness in the making of work at these times. Through struggle you’re fundamental beliefs are bought into question and you are forced to confront these and renegotiate a sense of self in relation to a dramatically shifting environment. With the young artists in China and other parts of Asia this rapid change of environment seems to draw out brilliance…(I’m paraphrasing what he said as I understood it).
This caused quite a stir in me, challenging what it means to be an artist here in London, a so called developed country. Art is an amazing vehicle for transformation, it can be arresting, challenging and eye opening. Not every war/deep struggle in history produces great art but in some cases… where I think there is a strong desire to challenge and transform the struggle to something better great movements are formed…What are the points of rebellion for artists in the West today? What is the challenge? the drive? the revolution? the questions? the vision?
