We all got back from Wrocław and the European Culture Congress. Back to the last days of summer inspired to ponder on art vs. creativity. Vs.? Is it an opposition really? For some. During the Dangerous Liaisons debate (with Jacek Żakowski as the moderator and Chantal Mouffe, Zbigniew Libera, Fatos Lubonja, Pius Knüsel and Tomislav Medak as participants) few areas were brought to my attention: commodification as an equally or more serious threat to art then power, elitism of art, public money as a tool to empower creative skills of the populace without showing the way the skills should be employed.
Cover by Agata Kaczkowska,
collage made at the Reading LabThe last of the mentioned here raised an objection from the audience: “Art cannot be dissolved into creativity.”
Is it really a threat to art? Such defensive and narrow-minded attitude can only result in hermetic art exhibitions. Some of the art pieces at the Congress did feel that way (this, in no way, is a recap of the whole Congress). The non-artists spoke of feeling excluded from the “experience”. Seems like that’s what some artists want: to show you the wall between mysterious and metaphysical realm of art, only they can enter, and you: the belittled everyman.
Gladly (or Hopefully) our Reading Lab did not raise any walls. The opposite: we aimed at creating a space for people, which I think we succeeded at. Crowds of people visited. Lots of energy exchanged. Thank you for that.
Nonvideo game by panGenerator
photo Agnieszka Górnicka
Biweekly#26. Editor: Agnieszka Słodownik. Cover by Agata Kaczkowska. Published 19 September, 2011 at 17:39.
