I brought a brick to Kyiv by train this winter. I didn’t know quite why but I knew it was the right thing to do. It was a kind of statement, an open ended question, I intuitively felt I should do it.
There are things that can’t be proven, that can’t be put into spreadsheets and reports. They are not quantifiable, but they still matter. Art, in all its forms, is one of these things. At the Caux Democracy Forum last week we attempted to let the artistic mindset have a part in a conference dedicated to democracy. Why?
We believe that art represents and guides the stories we tell each other, and that we tell ourselves, about who we are, where we come from, where we are headed, and where we want to be heading. This is both applicable as individuals and as a society as a whole. Underneath every constitution is a collective pool of stories and values. Art speaks to this, and reflects this.
If you look at a coin or note, you see a number, a value. But you also see items of national narratives, buildings, famous persons, items of identification, even certain colours and pictures of artwork. These are reminders of the underlying story beyond the face value of the coin or note. Art is communal storytelling and memory.
At this conference we wanted to open a door, to extend an invitation to understand and engage the artistic mind in all of us. Art is not just about an end product, it is just as much a mindset, a process, a journey, a way of living, and of seeing. We wanted to highlight and re-kindle this artistic mindset as much as the end artistic expression, in order to inspire new insights and pathways for all of us.
True art helps us see longer, go deeper, be braver, become more resilient, constructive, have more empathy and to challenge ourselves and our society to be better. Like birds we need to find our wings and soar, to reach higher altitude, to see further and travel farther. The wings of art interact with the currents of the air, with the surrounding we find ourselves in. Intuition and inspiration have real significance.
I remember all the times I saw those paintings, when I heard those songs, when I felt those connections and insights that were so tangible yet hard to pin down. I remember the feeling of importance of an action I just had to do, a chord, a colour and a path that I was compelled to pursue out of curiosity, and of duty. I remember the look in people’s eyes when they felt the intention in my music. I remember being lost for words for what to say to a person in despair once and instead I picked up the guitar to express it in music.
The artistic mindset is open to new possible futures, it wants to find and create meaning and coherence. It seeks new paths as well as uncovering old ones. It often is the work of an individual, and at the same time cannot not be removed from its context within society. It does not always know for certain. Art is guided by intuition and values, and at the same time shapes values. Art explains reality, art is discovery as well as pedagogy.
Art provides a platform for different perspectives, and is not afraid of subjectivity. Art gives us all a voice of expressing what we see and carry in our hearts. Art is a window to a landscape beyond us and within us.
The artistic mindset is not afraid of chaos for it knows a time of chaos is a time of putting things together in new ways. The artistic mindset is not afraid of emotions because it knows they are signposts to new insights.
Art seeks common knowledge of what it means to be human. It is a spiritual discipline. It reminds us of the past and connects it with the present as well as the future. Art is weaving with purpose, art asks open-ended questions. Art is listening deeply, art is communicating intentionally. It shows a link between me and we. Art widens the perimeter and strengthens the core. And it’s for each and every one of us not just a select few.
Democracy is not a technicality, it is not pre-eminent nor self-evident, rather it rests upon a collective commitment, understanding and story that needs to be approached and expressed in artistic terms. Art is a river that constantly flows to keep these truths fresh and relevant. In this age when storytelling is key we need to embrace and understand the artistic mindset. If we do not we will not capture hearts, and we might be captured by a storm of aggression and lethargy. Art is a necessity, not a luxury. Art is prophecy, art is soaring, art is seeing.
I brought a brick to Kyiv by train this winter. I gave it to a friend and she gave me one to bring back home. I often ask myself if I am a tourist when I travel in Ukraine as a Norwegian, as a foreigner. The friend I gave the brick to said “If you were a tourist you wouldn’t be bringing a brick here.”
Let’s embrace the role of arts in all its forms as well as the artistic mindset.
We are like birds. Art is like wings.
Sveinung Nygaard, Norwegian musician and composer, and one of the Caux Democracy Forum planning team.
English