Scriptie (J.Jager)

A dive into the cuckoo’s nest
Jorick P. Jager
Den Haag – Huissen- Ruinerwold,
1 december 2014
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Chapters
Chapters................................................................................................................................................2
1.Introduction.......................................................................................................................................3
2.The term utopia..................................................................................................................................6
3.Blueprint or satire?............................................................................................................................8
4.A contemporary view on utopia........................................................................................................9
5.Utopia and modern technology.......................................................................................................10
6.The marginalization of art...............................................................................................................12
7.Art nowadays...................................................................................................................................14
8.We need bigger stories.....................................................................................................................16
9.Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................17
10. Bibliography.................................................................................................................................18
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1. Introduction
In the past years I have noticed an increase in popularity of utopian ideas and thoughts in
all sorts of media, often embedded in slogan or even ‘wise-quotes’. Social media such as Facebook
are filled with them. They often are composed of a picture on which is placed a quote of a great
thinker, inventor or other personality remembered throughout history as for example Albert
Einstein (scientist), Ghandi (pacifist) and the Dalhai Lama (spiritual leader). Further more if you go
from reality shows about isolated island adventures on television (one of them is literally called
'Utopia'), passing through the biological and raw food trends to the new-hippie/mindfulness
movement proclaiming 'Love and Compassion' and the slogan 'live in the here and now', there
seems to be no place in our western world where one can escape the influence of this so-called
‘consciousness awakening’. Many courses and teachings are being offered about techniques and
practices to improve one’s health and feeling of well-being, such as yoga and various meditation
disciplines. In addition, alternative healing practices such as the one proposed by traditional
Chinese medicine are increasingly offering solutions to seemingly hopeless health problems. Best
of all, everything can be tailored to meet the ‘unique’ needs of the ‘unique’ individual.
I feel a lot of sympathy towards phenomena such as Chinese medicine just like I enjoyed
very much coming in contact with the culture of the 70's. Namely the strong belief and desire for
change on global scale. The mind set that everything is possible and we can all be happy. A
positive way of going about thinking about the world and the future of mankind that has been
criticised by many as naïve yet has sparked many people. However strong I may feel towards
them the above developments leave me with a sceptical after-taste. Instead of consciousness
waking up and being terribly alert, I get the impression that these matters are discussed and dealt
with in a more and more superficial way. The richness of possibilities for the individual somehow
appears to yield shallow and empty public debate. To illustrate, the news is full of conflicts and
problems such as plane crashes, wars and contagious diseases. In a more slumbering way, but
undoubtedly of even more importance, there is the threat of global warming, climate change and
the disastrous consequences this is supposedly going to have. An increase in population combined
to an increasing scarcity of resources can and most probably will lead to big scale problems such as
lack of food, lack of clean (drinkable) water and polluted air. On the other hand, the news is full of
unimportant gossip such as show news that sets an emphasis on paparazzi flavoured stories about
celebrities and public debates of low intellectual level . Gossip and important matters all seem to
be treated with more or less the same importance while it seems impossible to adequately deal
with really important problems. In addition, one would expect all public debate to centre on the
big issues, however that is not the case. Gossip and petty matters seem to be much more
interesting. Finally, bad news dominates. Beautiful stories about how love, compassion and real
collaboration can save the world are rare, popularly recognised by the saying: ‘good news, is no
news’.
As an artist and as a human being these enormous possibilities on the one hand and the
shallowness and emptiness of the public debate despite the enormous opportunities that exist,
intrigue me. I try to understand the world around me and see how I wish to sail my boat. More
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importantly, the above reflects more or less my thoughts and mind-set when I chose the topic for
this document. Utopian thinking and art are intricately related as can be seen in the following
manifest.
Half a century ago (in 1969) Joost Baljeu1
wrote a manifesto entitled The playful utopia2
in
which he repeatedly asks Where are the dreamers?. This question does not concern sleeping
people but on the contrary, the people who dare to dream while being awake. Men, women and
children who dare to use imagination in their daily life. Those who don't see their wishes and their
dreams as mere wishful thinking without any possibility for completion. Those people who see
utopia not as an escape from reality but as a dream that opens new perspectives and new
realities.3
In his plea against the present reigning order Baljeu states that democracy is a fossil with
millions of legs in which everything that happens must have a reason (an accepted one) and is
regulated. In his 'playful utopia' he proposes a playful state of affairs: his 'ludocracy'4
is a
permanent play of investigating human possibilities. Rather than collectively abiding by general
and compulsory regulations, the rules can be changed, depending on the direction the game takes,
a bit similar to the way children play when using their fantasy and imagination. Not a fixed set of
rules is important, the game is and the rules change with the requirements of the game. Rather
than all players competing for the only spot on the top and leaving the ‘losers’ behind in
frustration, the game is only interesting and pleasant when all people enjoy the game and
consequently participate and contribute to its development. In this new order artists are no longer
called artists because there no longer is a need to differentiate an artist from a non-artist.
Everybody has talents and the playful utopia aims at bringing out those talents: all people who
realise their talents are artists.
Nowadays (in 2014) we still distinguish between artists and others, democracy is still in
place and more often than not utopian ideas are referred to as 'castles in the clouds', never to be
achieved. Nevertheless there seems to be an increasing number of these 'utopian ideas', that is
being discussed, even at high level. There are stories about new cures for diseases, like cancer and
inherited diseases, through techniques involving genetic modification. There are even stories
about the complete elimination of cancer and people living to be 150 years. Projects are initiated
about airplanes travelling through space and shortening flight duration, settlements on Mars,
elimination of the use of energy from fossil sources, 3-D production techniques and robots
catering to our every need. The European parliament initiated a petition in 2013 about a
generalised base income for all citizens.5
Many people however reject this idea as impossible:
utopian in the sense of never to be realized. Some reject it because it hurts their interest, others
refer to the inherent egoism of man as basis for the only viable economic system being the liberal
one. Others take a short cut and simply believe in the market ideology as the only way to
distribute income and wealth. I feel sympathy towards measures as the base income and fail to
1
Joost Baljeu (1 November 1925 - 1 July 1991) was a Dutch painter, sculptor and writer. He is known for his large outdoor
painted steel structures.
2
BALJEU Joost
3
Ibid, line 18
4
Ludocracy (In Latin 'ludo' means 'play'): a state that takes shape through the concept of 'play'
5
An unconditional basic income given by a government or institution to all citizen that falls under its jurisdiction. This income is
not bound to any form of social or professional status. It is given as a covering of peoples basic need.
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see why something like a 'base income for all' should be seen as something utopian. To be realized
merely the political will to do so, political decisions and possibly some hard work are needed for it
to be implemented. In my view, measures of this kind will even become a necessity in the future
when technology is so far advanced that not all people are needed for production of goods and
services and thus the traditional market mechanism is no longer an adequate way of distributing
income. This matter when handled playfully would simply be tested. In the worst case scenario our
fears would become true and we would learn from our mistakes. In the best case scenario our
hopes get fulfilled and our fears turn out to have been no more than that, fear.
In the real world, things are not that simple apparently. Something I rationally understand
but emotionally fail to grasp. History has proven countless times that reality is not black or white,
but rather and endless array of shades of grey. Or, stated playfully, an endless range of shades of
all colours of the rainbow. In other words, people cannot assume that things will all go bad or all
go wrong. The results of the past are no guarantee for the future and changes can, and seem to do
so quite often, bring unforeseen consequences, among which, serendipities (pleasant surprises).
Fortunately, the conflictual state in which I find myself in regarding these so called
'utopian' or 'new age' trends, also yields the question about the relation between utopia and arts.
I feel strongly that art should contribute to propagating all the new opportunities to solve the
world’s main problems. Art should stimulate people to focus on the key-issues for the future
survival of the human society in the large sense. I wonder however whether art and developments
in art as they are occurring at present, truly plays this role or is, willingly or unwillingly, merely the
reflection of the shallowness and emptiness in public debate as described above. The entry point I
use to discuss this topic is the role of ‘utopian thinking’ in arts. A summary of my key-question is: is
the present use of utopian thinking in art really presenting the required and desirable future for
the world or is utopian thinking in art a mirror of the incapacity of societies to move ahead: nice
and interesting objects, images or writings but just that.
This discussion starts with an explanation of the (here above already used) term 'utopia'
and its ambiguous nature.
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2. The term utopia
In 1516 the humanist Thomas6
More published a book in Latin entitled De optimo rei
publicae statu, deque nova insula Utopia7
better known under the name Utopia given to it by its
numerous translators. In this book he describes a so called perfect society situated on an island
named Utopia and located far away: in the South seas. A fitting but ambiguous name as the term
can be derived from two Greek terms: 'Eutopia' meaning 'the good place' and 'Outopia' meaning
'no place'. This book may be the origin of the term ‘utopia’, it is not the first work evoking utopian
thoughts. In the introduction of his translation of the book of More, Paul Turner8
lists other books
and states: More's Utopia gave its name to a literary genre, of which well over a hundred
specimens have been published, the last in 1962; but the germ of Utopian fiction is probably to be
found in ancient descriptions of paradise.9
To cite a few examples: The Epic of Gilgamesh (18th
century BC) and Homer's Odyssey (8th
century BC). To these mythological examples can be added
from Christian religion The garden of Eden10
and Plato's Republic11
(380 BC) from Greek
philosophy. In the case of old myths utopian worlds are idyllic12
gardens (paradise, heaven) in
which people can choose to live a life of pleasure, freed of pain. In the case of religious works
there are the promises of bountiful rewards that men will receive (usually after death or in the
next life) if they live according to religious beliefs and rules. Plato’s work is more ‘down to earth ‘
in the sense that he attempts to create a blueprint of what he believes to be a perfect society. To
attain this he believes it should be ruled by philosophers. The society we have described can never
grow into a reality [...] and there will be no end to the troubles of states, or indeed [...], of
humanity itself, till philosophers are kings in this world, or till those we now call kings and rulers
really and truly become philosophers, and political power and philosophy thus come into the same
hands...13
Plato did not work on a utopia however is attempt to design a perfect society can be seen as quite
similar to the utopian thinking in the sense that it is aimed at a better greater whole for mankind.
Throughout history utopian ideas evolve alongside society. With development of individuals and
society, also the boundaries of utopian ideas broaden and change. However, there are themes
that seem to be constant. Examples are 'justice, freedom and happiness for all', ‘health and
freedom of ailments and pain’, ‘eternal youth’ and the pursuit of the 'greater truth'. Utopian ideas
and images can more or less be summarized as ideas about a perfect world in which men are free:
free of aches and fears, freedom to enjoy the bliss of life. Utopian ideas reflect the highest
possible good people can seek to achieve. A utopian situation is accessible to all people who are
6
Thomas More (7 February 1478- 6 July 1535) was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman and Renaissance
humanist.
7
MORE Thomas, De optimo rei publicae statu, deque nova insula Utopia, first published by Thierry Martens from Leuven in 1516
8
Paul Turner ( Born in 1917)
9
MORE Thomas, Utopia, Penguin books, 1965, page 16; line 8
10
Bible, Second book of genesis, Chapter 2 and 3
11
Plato, De republica, 5-4th
century before Christ. In this work, written as a socratic dialogue, Plato attempts, amongst other
things, at sketching a perfect city and state. Therefore even if mainly focused on politics and ethics the work is often used in
discussions about utopia.
12
An idyllic place or experience is extremely pleasant, beautiful and/or peaceful
13
PLATO, The republic
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willing to contribute to its realisation. To create and sustain an Utopian situation however, it is
required that everybody works together and has the same dream. Thus not only the meaning of
the term utopia is ambiguous, but also the concept of utopia itself is. The dream of complete
individual freedom is not compatible with the requirement of collaboration to achieve and sustain
Utopia. The concept of utopia carries in it the seed of the failure. Plato solves this inherent
contradiction by not accepting the full diversity of human beings e.g. by not accepting (complete)
individual freedom. As mentioned previously he claims that philosophers should be the rulers
thus leaving no other option for people than to accept the philosophers view on freedom.
Furthermore Plato was not fond of artists and therefore artists have no place in his perfect society.
He lived during the 5th
/4th
century before Christ. At his time artists (mostly traditional sculptors
and painters) praised themselves on being able to create lifelike copies of the world around them.
Plato is famous for a story about people trapped in a cave. They see shadows on the walls in front
of them. We know they are shadows but they do not. For they have never seen the provenance of
these shadows nor have they seen the sun and how something or someone by standing in the way
of light would create a shadow. Thus the perspective (idea) the trapped people have of reality is
but a fragment of the whole truth yet feels to them as being the whole truth. To Plato, people’s
perception of reality is similar to the story; It is a less than perfect and complete image of an
already perfect world, which in itself offers all the building blocks for people to create a perfect
society. Art, as a mirror of our reality, thus was considered by Plato as a ‘copy of a not so perfect
copy’ of a perfect world. Artists imitate and distorts the truth thus create of a perception of the
world in line with the shadows on the wall of the cave. Therefore artists were dangerous as they
promoted a copy of a fake whole instead of bringing us closer to the perfect world.
The expression of utopian thinking (in art) reflects a dualistic perception of the world. That
which is defined as ‘good or ideal’, can also be described as the opposite being ‘bad or to be
avoided’. The opposite is referred to as dystopia. Expressions of utopian thinking at any given
time, also reflect topics and issues that are perceived to be highly important, either in a positive or
in a negative sense. Equally, experiences, often new ones, that made a great impression,
discoveries and inventions yield dreams and ideas which on their turn lead to farther reaching
utopian ideals. In the middle ages in Europe, the dominant utopian images were of religious
nature and reflected the ideals of the Christian (catholic) religion. From the middle ages to the
present, other examples are the social utopia of the French revolution, the political utopia of the
communist ideology and the science fiction of the recent period of advanced economic and
technological development. The ‘utopian world’ thus is a universe of imagination and longing that
feeds on reality but surpasses it and morphs along the society (reality) in which it was birthed. A
world of dreams. However utopian ideas can also be seen as unachievable from the spatio-
temporal perspective in which the idea was formulated, but still so close to the realms of
possibilities that a real desire can develop to turn it into a reality. An example of this would be the
dream of flying; Italian artist and inventor Leonardo Da Vinci attempted to create a device
allowing him to fly but at his time the people around him probably saw it as impossible.
Nowadays we have helicopters, planes and even spaceships. Discarding dystopia can be
considered in the same way: an undesired situation can be modified and changed into a desired
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situation, often by rearranging already existing building blocks of reality e.g. in line with the
statement by Antoine Lavoisier14
: Nothing is gained, nothing is lost, all is transformed. Utopia is
defined as an unachievable ideal. It takes the shape of perfect societies where justice and
happiness prevail in which men live free of their aches and fears. Utopia even though
unachievable when formulated may be realised later on. Utopian thinking even though being
criticised as naïve or used with a negative connotation has the merit of sparking mankind towards
a hopeful horizon.
3. Blueprint or satire?
The adjective 'utopian' is found being used with a negative connotation e.g. unachievable
dreams, ‘keep on dreaming’. Ernst Bloch15
and Theodor W. Adorno16
have discussed utopia and
the later states that once achieved, dreams become part of the normal state of affairs and lose
their attraction:...numerous so-called utopian dreams--for example, television, the possibility of
travelling to other planets, moving faster than sound--have been fulfilled.17
This may be why the
discussing of the term utopia may feel somewhat anachronistic18
; Before an individual and/or the
society in which he lives are done formulating and discussing their utopia, parts of this utopia have
already been fulfilled. All utopian works appear to share a common essence; The hope to achieve
that which men has defined as being an 'unachievable ideal'. These utopian dreams prove time
after time that they are achievable and once they are, they are no longer utopian rendering the
defining of utopia ambiguous. Therefore it is important to bear in mind that there is a difference
between dreams, ideals and the utopia. The first two are the building blocks of the utopia but they
are not the utopia in itself. Furthermore nothing made before More's book is designed bearing
utopia in mind. They only posses qualities that can be perceived as utopian.
Fulfilling dreams perceived as utopian (unachievable) seems to be responsible for the negative
connotation that is sometimes linked to the term utopia. As they have been realized, the dreams
themselves have assumed a peculiar character of sobriety, of the spirit of positivism, and beyond
that, of boredom'19
; […] the fullfillment of the wishes takes something away from the substance of
the wishes...20
. Utopia may seem to be a blueprint for a better world but nothing is less true. A
real utopia such as the one T. More wrote is not a blueprint but a critic of the present and thus a
satiric work. In T. W. Adorno's words Utopia is essentially in the determined negation of that which
merely is, and by concretizing itself as something false, it always points at the same time to what
14
Antoine Lavoisier ( 26 August 1743- 8 Mei 1794) was a French chemist. He is perceived by many as the founding father of
modern chemistry.
15
Ernst Bloch ( 8 July 1885- 4 August 1977) was a German Marxist philosopher and member of the Frankfurtse schule
16
Theodor W. Adorno (11 September 1903- 6 August1969) was a German sociologist, philosopher, musicologist and member of
the Frankfurtse schule known for his critical theory of society.
17
BLOCH Ernst, page 1-line 9
18
Anachronistic: Something that does not fit in the chronological sequence of events or circumstances
19
BLOCH Ernst, page 1-line 14
20
Ibid, page 1; line 20
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should be21
. Nonetheless it is understandable that people misinterpret utopia for a blueprint given
the fact that their longings and wishes for the future are the building blocks of the utopia. In fact
by confronting us with an idealised version of our world, we also get pointed at that which is
lacking in our own situation. The utopia being an idealised copy of our own world it points at the
fact that things are not perfect otherwise we would not be idealising them and labelling them as
utopian.
Another thought on utopia is that it may be regarded as a stepping stone in a process of
acceptance. The ultimate ‘deadline’ of all living beings is death. As Ernst Bloch wrote Nailing the
coffin puts an end to all of our individual series of actions at the very least. In other words, it also
depreciates the before.22
The fact that one day we will die and thus all we do is essentially futile for
ourselves can be perceived as an inspiration to participate in something greater than ourselves:
hence the utopia that is destined to all mankind. From this perspective, utopia is not only a satire
of the world but also a way for people to overcome their fear of death through utopian thinking.
By working on something that can be transmitted to the next generations meaning, the fruits of
the efforts made during life survive the person that made the efforts.
4. A contemporary view on utopia
The sociologist Willem Schinkel23
believes that the world and everything that happens in it
is simultaneously perceived as common (ordinary) yet is implausible. In other words: the world is
an improbability that is perceived as normal. Everything that happens in this world is only
probable, if at all, because it is made to look probable.24
Every moment of their lives, people
perform this act of imagination, leading to the activities and actions that shape our daily lives. This
implies that ‘things’ are not necessarily as normal as we believe them to be and that imagination is
a crucial part of the processes that shape our world. Each day we make all kinds of choices that
may or may not have repercussions on future choices. Through visualisation we evaluate our
options and imagine new ones. For example trends such as the ones in fashion all are human
choices: a collective choice to follow a certain dress code. The things that are considered trendy
and normal in 2013 may be perceived as abnormal or outdated in 2014. This is a superficial
example but the same reasoning can be applied to the utopian thinking. An idea may be called
utopian and later on prove to have been a matter of imagination and action.
His second point of attention is that when we (people) came into this world, it turned out to be
broken (imperfect, not functioning). A house meant to be lived in, yet when experienced, only
yielding a longing to leave, a longing for a real home. We have a place to call our own and yet feel
restless as if possessed by a never ceasing desire for more and/or new things: Our homes never
seem to fully satisfy us. We make big and small choices and these may or may not influence our
21
Ibid, page 12; line 11
22
BLOCH Ernst, page 9; line 4
23
Willem Schinkel is a Dutch sociologist and philosopher
24
SCHINKEL Willem, line 26
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and other peoples future choices.. He calls this human condition 'schizotopia': man continuously
feeling to be in two different places, here and there, a permanent feeling of homelessness, never
finding a place that fits both his being and his longing. In our ancient tradition the fall of Adam and
Eve from Paradise into sin depicts the first and basic picture of schizotopia. Much later, also an
escape into ‘utopia’ becomes a possible answer to this perception of an imperfect world. Through
imagination, utopia offers the possibility for man to cope with his feeling of homelessness in this
improbable and imperfect world.25
5. Utopia and modern technology
According to Schinkel ‘modern utopia’ came into being when it became possible to think in
terms of alternatives. In a world that is completely reigned by (super)natural forces and deities,
there is no room for alternatives nor is there any reason to think about them. ‘what the Gods will,
will happen’. The first real utopia originate from the sixteenth century. While they were not
designed as a blueprint (for some ideal), they offered a way to consider about the possibility of
change and had to offer orientation points.26
The arrival of the modern utopia coincided with the
arrival of modern science and the onset of the diminishing role of religion in society, resulting in a
‘gap’ in reference points (or norms, values, truths). The development of science also offered new
and increasingly far reaching opportunities. This enabled men to realise their dreams and wishes
at an accelerating pace, at an increasing scale while shifting the frontiers of what might be still
achievable rapidly farther out. Similarly, in the same way science and technology allow for new
perspectives on the world and create space to imagine alternatives, science and technology
contribute also to the depreciation of utopia and the misinterpretation of utopia as blueprints. T.
W. Adorno and E. Bloch would only partially agree with this. In fact they would state that modern
science gave utopia an upgrading. They provide us with the example of fantasy/fairy tale like
stories that see themselves upgraded to science fiction.27
The technology presented by the older
stories have taken incredible proportions and the modern science fiction stories. According to
them, modern science shifted the utopia from an existing but inaccessible place to a not yet
existing one. Utopia is therefore no longer present somewhere (in an existing yet unreachable
location) but becomes located in the future: a goal to (maybe) achieve. In other words, there is a
transformation of the topos from space into time.28
Modernity has brought with it the capacity of
imagining ever further reaching worlds not only in a faraway space but also faraway future. Little
by little everything seems possible yet humans are still so small when faced to the immense space
they have discovered and the forces inhabiting it. This shift is not the only modification that
modern science has brought about. The development of all kinds of technology amongst which
mass media orchestrated a whole other phenomenon: the frontier between what is imaginary and
25
SCHINKEL Willem, line 35- 53
26
Ibid, line 65
27
BLOCH Ernst, page 2-line 35-38
28
Ibid, page 3; line 7-11
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what is real, has been bridged and has become blurred. According to Jean Baudrillard29
in his work
entitled 'Simulacra and simulations , society has replaced all reality and meaning with symbols and
signs. Man's perception of reality, influenced both by the real world and the simulated reality,
became more and more saturated by the latter. This simulated reality has no existing original,
either because it never had one to begin with or because the original no longer exists. J.
Baudrillard called this a 'simulacrum'. This must not be mistaken as a mere 'simulation', although
the line between both concepts is thin. A simulation is an imitation of systems or processes of the
real world. A simulacrum is a simulation of a perception of that reality. Thus a simulacrum is a
simulation but a simulation is not necessarily a simulacrum. The simulacrum is anchored in the
perception people have of reality and the image people want to give of that reality. It is present in
the 'here and now' but its original is not. The imagined and the real have mixed into a simulated
reality. This simulated reality that at first just masked the reality, steadily grew and started living a
life of his own. As the simulated reality (the imagined) became more and more inspired by other
simulated realities, and gained access to increasingly better reality registration tools to such as
film camera, it becomes harder and harder to distinguish the real from the imagined as well as
true from false. J. Baudrillard distinguishes four sign orders. The first is the reflection of a basic
reality, the second masks and perverts a basic reality, then there is a transition from signs which
dissimulate something to signs which dissimulate that there is nothing as the third type masks the
absence of a basic reality. Finally the fourth bears no relation to any reality whatever: it is its own
pure simulacrum.30
Mankind became able to reproduce reality with ever increasing effectiveness
allowing themselves to actually create a map of the reality capable of engulfing the reality that
inspired it. Baudrillard called this a hyper reality. This map has found its place between that which
is real and that which is imagined. The created reality seems to have engulfed the basic reality on
which our perception of reality has fed for thousands of years. A good of example of this would be
a news item in the public media along the following lines. When referring to the bombing of a
location for any reason whatsoever, media do not forcefully show us the true nature and meaning
of the bombardment e.g. the horror of pain and death that has or is occurring. Instead we are
presented with an image of a military officer explaining the technical aspects of a bombardment.
The most real and profound aspect of the bombardment is left aside: its horrifying consequences.
The news presents in fact a distorted picture of reality. More importantly what we supposedly
know from any problem occurring around the world is that which is told and shown to us. We
have not experienced it first hand and thus have no real experience of it yet the images and words
appear so convincing that we falsely believe to be knowledgeable.
Thus, the use of media and modern technology contribute to a series of major dilemma’s.
How is it possible to orient oneself about true and false when the real picture of the world, and
events therein, is lost? How is it possible to address important problems and issues and bring
about desired change if one does not know what is truly happening? How can people still
distinguish between fiction and reality? How can people differentiate between what is truly
utopian and that which is already possible? It seems that people have become caught in a huge
29
Jean Baudrillard ( 20 July 1929- 6 March 2007) was a French sociologist, philosopher, cultural theorist, political commentator
and photographer. His work is frequently associated with post-modernism and specifically post-structuralism.
30
BAUDRILLARD Jean, page 170; line 28
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‘information’ spider web and are tangling with a great number of different threads. It becomes
more and more difficult for people to process and give meaning to the massive amount of
information that is accessible and force fed to them through all kinds of media channels.
Marketing campaigns may build on our (basic) desires in order to create a need for
products that we did not need or miss before being informed about them. The very same longings
and desires that form the building blocks of utopia. This brings about the danger of being trapped
in an illusion formed by a vicious circle of propaganda and creation of perceived needs, thereby
killing criticism and the search for the fundamental alternatives that make change possible.
However it is not only mass media that have trapped us but also our own desire for an utopian
world. Our democracy, or in the words of W. Schinkel, our techno-democratic capitalism3132
is in
itself an utopian system and as this system allows us to be against it (organized opposition), it
becomes impossible to bring about fundamental changes to this system. Maybe this is what Plato
feared and the reason he was not fond of artists when refusing them a place in his perfect society
in the Republica. It is however not arts as such (fine arts) that poses the threat. The real danger to
change comes from everything in a creative and artistic disguise. In any case, The disguise allows
for association between in reality completely unrelated phenomena like an advertisement
showing a happy family watching television, suggesting that watching television will make your
family happy. Whether this is true or not is unimportant, the real aim being to sell televisions.
Utopia can thus be expressed through artistic methods not for the sake of utopian ideals but in
order to use our sympathy towards utopian thinking for various purposes other than a better
world. However it is not utopia we perceive in advertisement and tv-programs but merely a
response to the trend I mentioned in the introduction of this paper.
6. The marginalization of art
Until the eighteenth century, the creation of art was reserved to a few skilled people.
Distinguishing between the artisan and the artist was sometimes tricky, if not impossible. Only a
small elite could afford art due to its manufacturing cost. Industrialization entirely changed our
societies. Modern machines allowed people to turn manufacturing processes into industrial
processes that are quicker and more efficient. The arrival of new technologies such as
photography and film has made it possible to make art accessible to a large public.
Walter Benjamin33
discusses the impact of the modern technology on art in his work The
work of art in the age of its technical reproducibility. As the title suggest, the focus of Benjamin is
on man’s capacity to shape and manipulate art with efficient methods. Technology has given
people the capacity to be able to 'mass' produce and reproduce art. Thus, according to him, there
31
32
Techno-democratic capitalism refers to western societies that have adopted a democratic way of living. Highly
dependent on technology developed through science and possessing a capitalistic economic system.
33
Walter Benjamin ( 15 July 1892- 26 September 1940) was German philosopher, cultural critic and member of the Frankfurtse
schule.
,12

is a loss of authenticity of art. The uniqueness of a work of art permeates the context of its making
and of its heritage. Even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element:
its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be. This
includes the changes which it may have suffered in physical condition over the years as well as the
various changes in its ownership.34
The original possesses extra layers of information but these
layers are lost by reproduction. These layers are also lost (or are never created) in the original,
when the creation of the work art is aimed at producing many copies. For example: if an artist
creates an original while having mass production as aim, his work will be published in multiple
printed copies. There never is a meaningful creative context for the work. In such a case it is futile
to discuss the original, for there are multiple originals. The larger public for which this art becomes
accessible, no longer has to travel to a specific location to view the art work as used to be the case
in the past. Everybody can be owner of a copy. Art thus loses its exclusive position in time and
space. The viewer does not get the same experience when looking at one of these copies in
comparison with looking at a unique piece of work that still carries the circumstances of its
creation with it. In the past the exposition context also was responsible for a cult value that gave
the object of art an extra dimension. Modern technology renders the propagation and reception
of art more unpredictable than ever before. The meaning that is attached to a specific work by the
public as well as its intended meaning at the time of creation are stripped from clear orientation
(historic reference) points. This may lead to a lot of misinterpretations and the loss of the true
meaning of an artwork. Benjamin views this matter as a positive thing. According to him it allows
the larger public to become more knowledgeable and aware about art but also about a whole
larger array of things. Film changed people's way of looking at things and allowed a bigger portion
of people to relate and understand art. The perception of art is entirely altered and freed from its
parasitic dependence on tradition and cult35
bringing about a lot of new ways for art to grow. The
diversity of information that can be created and spread through art has gained incredible speed
and lifelike resemblance. Film even makes it possible to make accurate real time registration of a
process.
This is not the only consequence of modern technology on art. During the lifetime of
Benjamin, media as internet and smart phones did not yet exist. Neither did the accompanying
applications (graphics, photography, video). Nowadays there is technology that allows even non-
talented people to pretend they are talented artists. The technology does the work for them.
Massive reproduction, together with an increased emphasis on possession (capitalism) rather than
enjoying art, seem to have marginalized art.
Another consequence is that art sometimes becomes something similar to fashion. For
example visionary art that finds its inspiration and illustrates the beliefs and trends mentioned at
the beginning of this paper. Essentially, fashion is short lived, one or more seasons at most. What
is ‘in fashion’, or ‘out of fashion’ depends on a few designers, massive marketing campaigns and
the requirements of mass production of clothing. A key aspect of fashion is that ‘everybody wants
to be unique’, but everybody follows fashion (either willingly or simply because there is nothing
else), thus ‘everybody wears more or less the same clothes’. Concepts like ‘beauty’, ‘style’,
34
BENJAMIN Walter, chapter II line 1
35
Ibid, chapter IV line 19
,13

‘craftsmanship’, lose their intrinsic meaning and obtain a floating nature. Price, available income,
peer pressure in social groups and so on, are the dominating reasons to attribute qualities to the
goods. Also in fashion authenticity thus is lost. Clothes are copied and reproduce until the
perceived meaning of certain qualities ‘float’ away and are replaced by new meanings of the same
qualities. It is not surprising for an artist to be confronted with a public that lack understanding of
art yet pretend to be experts, as it is fashionable to have nice objects and of course to talk about
them. People often question (the quality, the meaning, et cetera) art, with the only intention to
criticize the work of an artist in order profile themselves as knowledgeable. In reality, many of
those people have no clue what they are talking about. It is a silly game of group behavior and
blame in which people take part all to readily. As a consequence, some artist are forced to work
for free while non-talented amateurs organize expositions and claim to be artists: simply because
they are fashionable. In this respect I agree with Joost Baljeu when he states that everybody is an
artist36
but that does not forcefully mean everybody is a good artist. The potential to do something
is not equal to the actual skills one has. It only means that we are all creators and to some extent
we all have the potential to develop those skills that make artist good at their job. Throughout
history a lot of artist have fought to acquire recognition for those skills and more importantly
acquire more freedom to create art. What is left of this freedom when the market (the masses)
and many (so called) artist believe that art is no more than a pretty picture? Is there truly freedom
in art when the talented artists are drowned in an ocean of pretension, floating fashions and
market pressure? Where is the artistic freedom when artists are forced to spend all available time
justifying their work as art? Can we even blame them given the previously mentioned loss of
orientation points or given the fact that artists themselves have claimed that ‘everybody is an
artists, everything is art’ and thus stimulated non-artist to be creative?The adjustment of reality to
the masses and of the masses to reality is a process of unlimited scope, as much for thinking as for
perception37
and it seems that everybody, artists included, have underestimated the possible
consequences of this adjustment.
7. Art nowadays
On one hand the diversity of art forms is bigger than ever before but on the other, real
talent is drowned in an endless production of copies and reproductions by copycats. Similarly, on
the one hand the world (people) has the means to be unified and strive for the betterment of all
people, yet conflict of interests over these same means provoke an endless amount of conflicts.
Instead of appreciating and stimulating the cultural diversity that is existing in the world, people
and societies have major troubles in accepting each other. Something, someone, some habit or
some belief seems only acceptable when it belongs to us, our group, our habits or our beliefs,
otherwise it is seen as a threat. Differences are perceived as dangerous and need to be avoided,
eliminated or ridiculed. The beneficial aspects of the diversity are only recognized if not perceived
36
BALJEU Joost, line 37
37
BENJAMIN Walter, chapter III line 29
,14

as a threat. So, mosques are interesting and beautiful buildings when visited during a vacation and
threatening if one is constructed in our neighborhood. This threat being birthed in ignorance at
first sees its chances of dissolving ripped by the image people have of the religion associated to it.
After the multiple terrorist attacks many non Islamist people have willingly or unwillingly
associated Islam with terrorism. Diversity offers the possibility to gain new perspectives and enrich
oneself culturally and intellectually, yet unacceptable if not understood or in to great amounts at
any one time.
Although it is very difficult if not impossible to make a clear and well-founded analysis of
what actually happens in a certain era while being part of it, attempt thereto are still made.
Nicolas Bourriaud tries to make such an attempt. His Alter-modern manifesto aims to explain what
happens in the art world nowadays (a good description in my view). Bourriaud says: A new
modernity is emerging, reconfigured to an age of globalisation- understood in its economic,
political and cultural aspects: an altermodern culture38
in which the artist has become the 'Homo
viator', the prototype of the contemporary traveler [...] This evolution can be seen in the way works
are made: a new type of form is appearing, the journey-form, made of lines drawn both in space
and time, materializing trajectories rather than destinations. The form of the work expresses a
course, a wandering, rather than a fixed space-time.39
In other words artists appear to have
become diplomats between different cultures and different disciplines within those cultures. They
are exploring and mapping (transcribing) the possibilities and problems offered to mankind by the
current state of affairs (created amongst many other things by the world's economical and
political conditions, the ever increasingly faster scientific and technological advances and the
cultural differences and similarities). As the possibilities we gain access to seem to become more
and more infinite artist explore more and more ways through which they can express themselves
amongst which art being born by and laying emphasis on the interaction people have with each
other and their environment in a context given by an artist. Here the work is no longer an object
but a work in progress in which even the public became co-creator. There is thus an emphasis on
the first hand lived experience rather than on the registration (note that registration still occurs
for the sake of documentation and ulterior viewing and reflection). There is also an increase in
inter-disciplinary work through collaboration between artist and other professionals that come
from other career fields (for example a biologist or a cook). The world has become heavily
interconnected (transport and communication methods have drastically improved in the past
century) and the amount of cultural confrontations has increased. Many artist have responded to
this by combining fragments of different culture all together. This can be interpreted as blurring of
clear distinction and by some as insulting towards their own culture.
Looking at this point from another perspective, raises the question if artists are currently
trying to give new meaning to the different fragments of culture that previously seem to have lost
all their meaning. Thus artists would be creating (road) maps allowing people to see not only the
differences between them but also the aspects on which they are alike. An example is that many
cultures have a different religions, when looking more closely however, the core values of these
different religions are often quite similar: ‘thou shall not kill, thou shall do good et cetera'. In this
38
BOURRIAUD Nicolas, line 1
39
BOURRIAUD Nicolas, line 39
,15

process it is important to remember that the diversity should be nurtured and not be discarded
over time, similar to the way the ‘anti-system’ hippies of the 1960ties
, propagating values as
autonomy, creativity and out of the box thinking, became the pole-bearers of the current
establishment (techno-democratic capitalist system according to Schinkel)40
. Over time, the hippie
movement was disarmed and left without tools (and energy) that could bring about the
fundamental change the hippie ideals initially proclaimed.
The character of the older art is essentially mimetic meaning that art is inspired by reality
and thus reflects this reality. Part of this mimicry character has been lost as has been described
before. Possibly art should place new emphasis on mimicry. Bearing out the ‘old’ fashion utopia
and dystopia once more. People and societies have access to a wide and increasing range of
possibilities and opportunities but people also have to learn more than ever before to coexist.
These possibilities enable us to do amazing things for the well being of mankind and the
environment they live in, however it is also possible to do the opposite. In extreme ways as the
example of knowledge about atoms and radioactivity shows: electricity, medical equipment and
cures but also devastating bombs can be produced. If it is possible to create threats on global scale
that can divide us it means it is also possible to create a utopia on global scale.
8. We need bigger stories41
The conclusion of the Schinkel’s lecture is that we need bigger stories. Real utopia, red
lines, dots on the horizon in other word, real and meaningful references and orientation points.
The essence of these stories must be to tell us what it means to desire a more just and caring
world.42
As human beings, we find ourselves permanently in the 'in between'. Between birth and
death, between the home we have and the home we long for, between the place we are at and
the utopia we wish for.43
The utopia should not aim at erasing the schizotopia because it is
precisely this painful condition that makes us productive. The pain we experience is according to
him the fuel of our desire to move forward, to keep on fighting for improvement and try to get
ever closer to the utopia.44
Many so called utopian ideas are not themselves the utopia but merely
modifications or adjustments of an existing situation. This should however not stop us designing
them and discussing them as long as it is clear that they are not the utopia but inspired by the
utopia.45
This reasoning can also be applied to art. I believe it is important that people and artist
alike realize that what they are doing is not forcefully art with a big 'A'46
but may offer ideas and
new insights. However also art must aim to contribute to these bigger stories by clearly showing
the utopia and dystopia, related to these bigger stories. We should not discard the ideas that
40
41
Ibid, line 172
42
Ibid, line 192
43
Ibid, line 175
44
Ibid, line 195
45
Ibid, line 199
46
Art recognized by experts in the art field ( artists and intellectuals) as being of great quality and worth.
,16

come along the 'new-age' trends but also keep a critical mind about them. Whether or not
something is truly utopian is not the most important question to ask about something which is
called utopian. It seems more important for someone to ask to himself if he perceives it as utopian
and consequently what things he can learn about himself. By balancing in between a naive and a
critical mind he can open a lot of doors and enrich himself.
9. Conclusion
Is the present use of utopian thinking in art really presenting the required and desirable
future for the world or is utopian thinking in art a mirror of the incapacity of societies to move
ahead: nice and interesting objects, images or writings but just that.
To investigate the matter I started with the term utopia and discovered that even though
ancient works may have similarities with what many people perceive as utopia the real utopia
came alongside the development of what has lead to modern science and technology. It is an
unachievable ideal built out of the dreams and wishes of men. Often interpreted and represented
as a perfect world in which resides a perfect order. A world with societies that live harmoniously
justly and are freed of all that which burdens people painfully (death included). Modern
technology that both bridges and blurs the line between real and imaginary also stretches the
limit of the possible to heights we have never seen before. So much is possible that it becomes
impossible for one person to process it all. We can perceive utopian thinking as futile and
frustrating for it is a never ending game of dreaming and hoping for the impossible or
unachievable but the opposite holds true as well. The positive mind-set that utopian thinking
conveys has proven multiple times to be successful when it comes to inspiring people that
consequently worked to realize fragments of the utopia. In this regard the utopia finds its
importance in serving as a beacon. It proposes alternatives to the current order that
simultaneously also criticizes it. This is in line with Adorno's view that art can only convey truth by
pointing at and denunciation of the untruths.
Schinkel's conclusion is aimed at the Dutch politics but can also be applied to art. We need
bigger stories. Artist can contribute to it in a wide array of ways and in my opinion have already
started to do so. Nicolas Bourriaud's observation of contemporary arts emphasis the response to a
global state of affairs. The world has become densely covered with transport and communication
ways and it seems more naïve to ignore this fact than to adopt a utopian way of looking at things.
Desiring a unified world is no longer utopian but seem to have become a necessity and to do so we
need bigger stories not only in politics and in art but also in all other fields. In fact artists could use
the freedom and recognition they have fought to require throughout history in order to create
links and spaces between the different fields of expertise and through collaboration recreate a
new bigger image that can enlarge our limited view of what mankind truly is or is not capable of
achieving.
,17

10. Bibliography
Books
BENJAMIN Walter (1998) The work of art in the age of its technical reproducibility, ARENDT
Hannah (ed.) ZOHN Harry (trans.), Arendt, Schoken/Random house
MORE Thomas (1965) Utopia, TURNER Paul (trans.), London-NewYork: Penguin books
PLATO (1974) The Republic, LEE Desmonds (trans.), New-York: Penguin Classics
Chapter in book
BAUDRILLARD Jean (2001) Simulations and simulacrum in: POSTER Mark (ed.), Jean
Baudrillard; Selected writtings, Stanford university press
BLOCH Ernst (1989) Something's missing: A discussion between Ernst Bloch and Theodor
W. Adorno on the Contradictions of Utopian Longins in: ZIPES Jack (trans.), MECKLENBURG Frank
(trans.) The Utopian function of Art and Literature-selected essays, London-England, Cambridge-
Massachusetts: The MIT Press
Article in catalogus
BALJEU Joost (1969) De ludieke utopia in: Catalogus 461 Joost Baljeu-Syntetische
Konstrukties, Amsterdam: Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, 25 April- 8 June
Internet sources
BOURRIAUD Nicolas (2009) Alter-modern manifesto, Manifesto of the Tate Triennale:
Altermodern (3 february- 26 april 2009)
http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/altermodern/explain-
altermodern/altermodern-explained-manifesto (last visited: 04-12-2014)
SCHINKEL Willem (2014) Hoe de revolutionaire hippies van toen de systeembevestigende
managers van nu zijn geworden, De Correspondent, 20 September
https://decorrespondent.nl/1790/Hoe-de-revolutionaire-hippies-van-toen-de-
systeembevestigende-managers-van-nu-zijn-geworden-/68816550-c1a26510 (last visited: 04-12-
2014)
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