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Art, Protest and Pragmatism

How can you really effect some change in this world? How powerful is your protest, smashing Starbucks windows and holding up signs? Yes, it is good PR, but are you really making a difference by showing and telling? Is there something you should be doing?

I recently attended a salon hosted by the Wooster Collective. Genius culture jammer Ange Taggart presented her own work and some of her colleagues. The work was visually stunning, wry and moving. In "Cleaning up After Capitalism", her colleague Richard goes to Wall Street with a vacuum and Virgin Records and makes a show of tidying the area. Ange and ex-political prisoner Mark Barnsley do a number called "Insecurity Guard" filling a market void in our uncertain times.

All of this was well done and impactful. It raised considerations about the efficacy and role of art in raising awareness and driving systematic societal shifts. The culture jamming campaigns raised my awareness and made me smile and consider. But they are different from action that will make change.

After Taggart had spoken about the dangers and crimes of capitalism, I asked her if she had an alternative that worked better. She said that with enough smart people thinking together, we could come up with an alternative. So what happens after the revolution? Radical and immediate change is imperative, but change to what? What do you want to be the system post-facto? Hmmm....

Abe posed an interesting question about the conflation the "evils" of Wal-Mart and Starbucks, citing that in his experience, Starbucks provides a pretty decent service to his community. He grew up in NYC, where, before Starbucks it was pretty difficult to find a decent cup of coffee. Further, he talked about Starbucks commitment to its employees manifested through diversity and benefits to part-time workers. Here's a good take on the issue: The Starbucks Paradox. Wal-Mart...well that's a different story.

Which brings me to my conclusion...to make real change, it ultimately takes dedication of resources and more tangible action to make change. One example that blew me away was a group of environmentalists who are using funds to buy up excess emissions of sulfur dioxide on the open market and then not using that allocation to pollute. Brilliant, effective and action oriented...admirable.

Symbiotically, the artist and culture jammer have raised awareness, gotten the message out...but the pragmatist has executed and made the change happen. The beauty of art is it can stimulate, move to action.

Suggested Reading: Anti-Americanism by Jean Francois Revel. Exploring the roots of anti-Americanism delving into the roots of the anti-globalization movement and what the author sees as the true motives of such movements. Will most likely anger you but should also open you to viewpoints that you don't find in the NY Times, The Guardian etc... For me, a valuable exercise to force myself out of a reading comfort zone, where I am only engaging in left wing material that is easy to stomach, get behind and agree with. Posted by Neil at May 8, 2004 01:38 PM | TrackBack