Despite the overwhelming economic crisis in Greece today, the country is seeing a surprising growth in artistic activity. From art galleries to theater playhouses, the arts seem to be experiencing a revival. Filmmakers and street artists, inspired by the economic and social situation, are producing works of art that are deeply imbued with a critical consciousness. This year's Oscar nominated film from Greece, Attenberg, shows a different side of Greece from an offbeat perspective. Galleries such as the Kunsthalle Athena are showing exhibitions of works by artists such as Lydia Dambassina and Stefania Strouza, whose innovative work expresses the pain and duress of the Greek people. For example, Stefania Strouza is known for taking excerpts of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and framing them for display: "My soul consents not to give sovereignty" and "Before the time seemed Athens as a paradise to me", are just a few examples.
It is undeniable that times of hardship provoke art (think: the great music produced by Blues artists, etc.), but my question is a little different. Is art better when it is produced in times of hardship? It certainly will have a different message, but is it true that the most intriguing art derives from suffering?
I don't know the answer. I think that artists who are not yet the darlings of the market work harder and in more interesting ways than after they are develop a profile. Tough economic climates do not necessarily produce good art--but certainly different art. With globalization comes artists of no particular nationality which is to say, I am guessing that the best-established Greek artists probably live in Berlin and London, viewing their native country's economic woes from afar. In other words, even before the crisis, Greece wasn't exactly known as a hotbed for contemporary art production.
ReplyDelete