At Occupy Wall Street there is a wonderful process in play that, for all its problems, can be best described as Democracy in action. The stance of most of the activists is apolitical in that they find the current rusting infrastructure of politics to be one they no longer wish to work within. Neither do they wish to come at it from the left or right. This is bubbling up from underneath. Understandably they do not see the roads and bridges we now have in place standing up for long. The current crop of politicians give the appearance of desperately trying to maintain the current system but show a complete unwillingness to inject real change (monetary or visionary) into the process. The Masses are now the 99%. Socialism is now, at its simplest, people wanting to see people treated with respect. To continue using these words as a form of insult will only show up the thrower of those insults as a dinosaur stuck in old patterns, unable to escape a dualistic approach to politics that is failing to function effectively. There is a kind of political exegesis going on. Break down the current system, look at all the parts, and cyber-nurd it back together, whilst making sure to throw new parts thrown in and stir, vigorously.
I see so many people energized by a sense that change might be possible if applied with great caution. Burned once people hold their hope close to their chest. Artists, economists, university lecturers, whoever is involved must show a willingness to make mistakes, and be open to criticism, the horizontal process, and consensual thinking. It is way too soon to say any of us have figured this thing out to the point where clear demands, open and shut, can be made.
One artist at the No Comment Art show, Wolf Geyr, has clearly been struggling with the issues of art and money for a while now. My take on biting the hand that feeds i.e. making art that one hopes is pretty insulting to the very people who might one day buy that same art, has been fairly consistent. Think Steve Bell, brilliant satirical cartoonist who has been a presence in the British paper, the Guardian, for a good thirty years. I believe, though I may have my facts wrong, that Margaret Thatcher, whom he satirized viciously in his strip Maggie’s Farm, bought some of his originals. I guess that is one way to stifle criticism, rather than getting all upset in public. This does not really succeed unless the cartoonist/artist gives up, and Steve Bell is, mercifully, as biting as ever.
I’d like to point out that many of those in the financial industry who are also patrons of the arts have been biting your hand all along. You put your money in their bank where they make it grow to their own benefit whilst charging you for the privilege of doing so. Curious don’t you think?
*love*
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