The continuing death and destruction unleashed by the United States following 9/11
and the medias monolithic support for it's violations makes it imperative that
independent artists create effective pointed alternative statements. Though the
military aggression of the United States has been met with an unprecedented artistic
response it is our effectiveness I would like to address. I've come to realize that an
important key to stimulating change in our society is the very task that I and most
other political artists have avoided.
Artists need to move beyond criticizing capitalism, toward illuminating successful,
alternative models of social organization and cooperation. The doctrine of
Internationalism can help guide us toward this end. This doctrine states that the
common interests of nations are more important than their differences.
By contrast, Webster's Dictionary defines Nationalism as "The doctrine that one's
national culture and interests are superior to all others". While Nationalists require
blind allegiance to one's national rulers, Internationalists see themselves as part of
a global working class with allegiance to no country.
Examples of work reflective of Internationalist thinking include Food First an
organization that believes in order to be free from hunger people must have real
democratic control over the resources needed to sustain themselves and their
families. They offer educational resources from books to in the field assistance to
those involved in the struggle to reform the global food system from the bottom up.
A second exemplary organization, Friends of the Earth International is a federation
of autonomous environmental organizations from all over the world whose members,
in 70 countries, campaign on the most urgent environmental and social issues of
our day, while simultaneously catalyzing a shift toward sustainable societies. They
believe the lending policies of the World Bank and exploitive free trade agreements
between rich and poor nations are leading to a global system of unsustainable
production and consumption that benefits giant corporations but fails people.
If we are to persuade others to join collective efforts such as these we must
understand what inspires people to action. In my own case, I was moved to action by
a vision of how things could be different and I think that is what motivates most
people.
Nationalists are also aware of this powerful motivational force. They control our
vision of the future by limiting what we see. Our election process is a classic
example of this. In our last race neither Nader nor any of the third party candidates
were given access to the media. As a result we had a non-debate between two
wealthy pro war representatives of capital. Concepts that could affect our quality of
life such as socialized medicine, peace, education and options to the wage system
were either narrowly defined by the democrats and republicans or not brought up at
all.
The internationalists view of the world citizen is kept completely out of view of the
American public consequently the Nationalist are able to mutate our love for our
fellow humans into love for only United States Citizens, and than into fear of the
"other'. We can witness this manipulation by examining how our government
nurtures camaraderie among soldiers in the Iraq War. Soldiers routinely engage in
acts of kindness and self-sacrifice toward each other (risk their lives to save a fallen
soldier, look out after the weaker soldier, etc.) but rarely do they extend this
camaraderie to the Iraqi people they were sent to liberate. Even though many
soldiers now realize that they were misled by deceitful propaganda and are now
fighting an illegal and unjustifiable war of aggression they return day after day to the
battlefield. They do this not because of the necessity of the war, but because of
the camaraderie the government has nurtured within their military family. Our
challenge as artists is to nurture this same camaraderie to a point where citizens of
all nations can break from the narrow confines of nationalistic love to international
love and compassion for all.
Depicting positive solutions to all forms of injustice, war, poverty and environmental
waste must be recurring themes in our art. Organizations such as Friends of the
Earth International and Food First, exemplify such solutions, but because they
threaten the status quo, our corporate sponsored media intentionally ignore them.
As artists, we must propel such examples of a more intelligent and compassionate
way of life into the public consciousness.
An increase in the number of images persuasively reflecting an alternative to
Nationalism will undoubtedly be met with aggressive, divide-and-conquer tactics.
John Ashcroft, the nation's former top cop, stated, "Those who oppose the Patriot
Act only aid terrorists, erode our national unity and diminish our resolve". Since the
passage of the Patriot Act, some artists critical of America's military aggression have
lost their teaching jobs, others have been threatened with jail and still others have
censored themselves out of fear. Increasing numbers of Arab or Muslim artists, as
well as artists from countries not supporting U.S. policies, have been denied visas.
Regardless of these efforts to silence criticism and censor the international
perspective, the majority of United States artists have not been intimidated.
Many of us gather courage and resolve from remembering examples of international
solidarity such as the Dockworkers from Japan, Canada and the United states who
risked their jobs by refusing to un-load the cargo ship, Neptune Jade. England had
just privatized its ports, fired it's union workers and hired scabs to load the cargo.
The dock workers effect was so strong it caused the shipping company to change
the ships name in order to get the cargo unloaded. Another example of
inspirational collective action is the recent factory take-overs in Argentina. There,
the economy crumbled under the weight of foreign debt and a corrupt government,
leaving the workers unpaid and without jobs. The x-employees bravely reoccupied
a number of plants and began to operate them themselves. They shared the
profits and dictated their own working conditions. The cooperative movement in
Venezuela is also a up- lifting experiment in self-organization. To date there is
approximately 58,000 cooperatives, each one set up with a small government loan,
democratically operated and the profits are divided among the members however
the members see fit. The small government start-up loans are paid back not to the
government but to another beginning cooperative, thus continuing the enrichment
of the Venezuelan people rather than the government. Historic individuals such as
Paul Robeson can also inspire strength. We can gain inspiration from
remembering the internationally famous singer, actor and an All American football
player, Paul Robeson, who, at the height of his popularity, was stripped of his
passport and blacklisted because of his support for socialism. He tenaciously held
onto his moral beliefs refusing to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities
Committee. Such visions of international solidarity, factory take-overs, sharing of
resources, successful experiments in self-rule, and sustainable living practices can
inspire us all as we take our art on the offensive.
Volunteers Needed
As for contemporary artists who have never raised their brushes in self-defense or
in the defense of others, I would like to encourage you to lend your specific talents
to envisioning a better future. Many artist friends have responded to this call by
claiming that their form of expression is not suited to the requirements of effective
propaganda, but this excuse is usually not founded in history. Artists of all stripes
as unlikely as Mark Chagall, Joan Miro, Alice Neal and Jackson Pollock have all
made artistic contributions to social struggles. Often the artist least expected to
respond politically creates the most influential work. Other reluctant artists have
told me that they did not feel qualified to design the future. They prefer to leave
that job to more knowledgeable or politically aware persons. But this kind of
abrogation of civic responsibility is characteristic of what has contributed to the
demise of our democracy. The ominous proliferation of nuclear weapons and
life-threatening environmental degradation proves that the policy of
non-involvement is not working. It is paramount that we all take part in shaping the
future.
Artists, in general, are resourceful, have a healthy intellectual curiosity, value justice
and are highly suspicious of dogma. Although many do not publicly espouse their
beliefs, they usually possess sound values--share the wealth, protect our natural
resources, make love not war. We have developed our expressive skills and often
view the world from a unique vantage point. This artistic perspective, often coming
from our deep unconscious, can provide insights crucial to motivating, informing and
problem solving.
At this time in history, the survival of our species is dependent on learning how to
cooperate. Our enemies, who profit from capitalism, racism, and war, will try to
mislead us, distract us, divide us, and destroy our organizations. Our job as artists
is to create images that expose the ugliness of the exploiters but equally important,
we must show viable alternatives to a better future.
To visit Doug Minkler's website click here.
Back
and the medias monolithic support for it's violations makes it imperative that
independent artists create effective pointed alternative statements. Though the
military aggression of the United States has been met with an unprecedented artistic
response it is our effectiveness I would like to address. I've come to realize that an
important key to stimulating change in our society is the very task that I and most
other political artists have avoided.
Artists need to move beyond criticizing capitalism, toward illuminating successful,
alternative models of social organization and cooperation. The doctrine of
Internationalism can help guide us toward this end. This doctrine states that the
common interests of nations are more important than their differences.
By contrast, Webster's Dictionary defines Nationalism as "The doctrine that one's
national culture and interests are superior to all others". While Nationalists require
blind allegiance to one's national rulers, Internationalists see themselves as part of
a global working class with allegiance to no country.
Examples of work reflective of Internationalist thinking include Food First an
organization that believes in order to be free from hunger people must have real
democratic control over the resources needed to sustain themselves and their
families. They offer educational resources from books to in the field assistance to
those involved in the struggle to reform the global food system from the bottom up.
A second exemplary organization, Friends of the Earth International is a federation
of autonomous environmental organizations from all over the world whose members,
in 70 countries, campaign on the most urgent environmental and social issues of
our day, while simultaneously catalyzing a shift toward sustainable societies. They
believe the lending policies of the World Bank and exploitive free trade agreements
between rich and poor nations are leading to a global system of unsustainable
production and consumption that benefits giant corporations but fails people.
If we are to persuade others to join collective efforts such as these we must
understand what inspires people to action. In my own case, I was moved to action by
a vision of how things could be different and I think that is what motivates most
people.
Nationalists are also aware of this powerful motivational force. They control our
vision of the future by limiting what we see. Our election process is a classic
example of this. In our last race neither Nader nor any of the third party candidates
were given access to the media. As a result we had a non-debate between two
wealthy pro war representatives of capital. Concepts that could affect our quality of
life such as socialized medicine, peace, education and options to the wage system
were either narrowly defined by the democrats and republicans or not brought up at
all.
The internationalists view of the world citizen is kept completely out of view of the
American public consequently the Nationalist are able to mutate our love for our
fellow humans into love for only United States Citizens, and than into fear of the
"other'. We can witness this manipulation by examining how our government
nurtures camaraderie among soldiers in the Iraq War. Soldiers routinely engage in
acts of kindness and self-sacrifice toward each other (risk their lives to save a fallen
soldier, look out after the weaker soldier, etc.) but rarely do they extend this
camaraderie to the Iraqi people they were sent to liberate. Even though many
soldiers now realize that they were misled by deceitful propaganda and are now
fighting an illegal and unjustifiable war of aggression they return day after day to the
battlefield. They do this not because of the necessity of the war, but because of
the camaraderie the government has nurtured within their military family. Our
challenge as artists is to nurture this same camaraderie to a point where citizens of
all nations can break from the narrow confines of nationalistic love to international
love and compassion for all.
Depicting positive solutions to all forms of injustice, war, poverty and environmental
waste must be recurring themes in our art. Organizations such as Friends of the
Earth International and Food First, exemplify such solutions, but because they
threaten the status quo, our corporate sponsored media intentionally ignore them.
As artists, we must propel such examples of a more intelligent and compassionate
way of life into the public consciousness.
An increase in the number of images persuasively reflecting an alternative to
Nationalism will undoubtedly be met with aggressive, divide-and-conquer tactics.
John Ashcroft, the nation's former top cop, stated, "Those who oppose the Patriot
Act only aid terrorists, erode our national unity and diminish our resolve". Since the
passage of the Patriot Act, some artists critical of America's military aggression have
lost their teaching jobs, others have been threatened with jail and still others have
censored themselves out of fear. Increasing numbers of Arab or Muslim artists, as
well as artists from countries not supporting U.S. policies, have been denied visas.
Regardless of these efforts to silence criticism and censor the international
perspective, the majority of United States artists have not been intimidated.
Many of us gather courage and resolve from remembering examples of international
solidarity such as the Dockworkers from Japan, Canada and the United states who
risked their jobs by refusing to un-load the cargo ship, Neptune Jade. England had
just privatized its ports, fired it's union workers and hired scabs to load the cargo.
The dock workers effect was so strong it caused the shipping company to change
the ships name in order to get the cargo unloaded. Another example of
inspirational collective action is the recent factory take-overs in Argentina. There,
the economy crumbled under the weight of foreign debt and a corrupt government,
leaving the workers unpaid and without jobs. The x-employees bravely reoccupied
a number of plants and began to operate them themselves. They shared the
profits and dictated their own working conditions. The cooperative movement in
Venezuela is also a up- lifting experiment in self-organization. To date there is
approximately 58,000 cooperatives, each one set up with a small government loan,
democratically operated and the profits are divided among the members however
the members see fit. The small government start-up loans are paid back not to the
government but to another beginning cooperative, thus continuing the enrichment
of the Venezuelan people rather than the government. Historic individuals such as
Paul Robeson can also inspire strength. We can gain inspiration from
remembering the internationally famous singer, actor and an All American football
player, Paul Robeson, who, at the height of his popularity, was stripped of his
passport and blacklisted because of his support for socialism. He tenaciously held
onto his moral beliefs refusing to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities
Committee. Such visions of international solidarity, factory take-overs, sharing of
resources, successful experiments in self-rule, and sustainable living practices can
inspire us all as we take our art on the offensive.
Volunteers Needed
As for contemporary artists who have never raised their brushes in self-defense or
in the defense of others, I would like to encourage you to lend your specific talents
to envisioning a better future. Many artist friends have responded to this call by
claiming that their form of expression is not suited to the requirements of effective
propaganda, but this excuse is usually not founded in history. Artists of all stripes
as unlikely as Mark Chagall, Joan Miro, Alice Neal and Jackson Pollock have all
made artistic contributions to social struggles. Often the artist least expected to
respond politically creates the most influential work. Other reluctant artists have
told me that they did not feel qualified to design the future. They prefer to leave
that job to more knowledgeable or politically aware persons. But this kind of
abrogation of civic responsibility is characteristic of what has contributed to the
demise of our democracy. The ominous proliferation of nuclear weapons and
life-threatening environmental degradation proves that the policy of
non-involvement is not working. It is paramount that we all take part in shaping the
future.
Artists, in general, are resourceful, have a healthy intellectual curiosity, value justice
and are highly suspicious of dogma. Although many do not publicly espouse their
beliefs, they usually possess sound values--share the wealth, protect our natural
resources, make love not war. We have developed our expressive skills and often
view the world from a unique vantage point. This artistic perspective, often coming
from our deep unconscious, can provide insights crucial to motivating, informing and
problem solving.
At this time in history, the survival of our species is dependent on learning how to
cooperate. Our enemies, who profit from capitalism, racism, and war, will try to
mislead us, distract us, divide us, and destroy our organizations. Our job as artists
is to create images that expose the ugliness of the exploiters but equally important,
we must show viable alternatives to a better future.
To visit Doug Minkler's website click here.
Back
| A Call for More Internationalist Art |
"Art is not a mirror held up to reality,
but a hammer with which to shape it."
– Mayakovski
but a hammer with which to shape it."
– Mayakovski
By Doug Minkler
Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
We have become fluent in the language of
death, destruction and alienation, but find
ourselves limited when it comes to the
language of peace, Internationalism and
justice. The unrelenting barrage of
governmental corruption, Nationalism and
wars has kept us on the defensive;
consequently, we have created little in the way
of visionary art. Inspirational acts of
compassion and solidarity, as well as
examples of people fighting for justice and
equality occur daily, yet are rarely captured in
our work. It is these images of hope that
have the power to create real change in our
society.