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Dialogues@RU is published annually
by the
Writing Program at
Rutgers, The State
University of New Jersey
Volume One
Spring 2002
To
Live Without Dead Time: An Inquiry into
Political Art and the Art of Political Struggle -
Page 1
Elliot Aronow
It has been argued by cultural conservatives that those who wish to stand outside of society have no place in participating in its political processes and policies. The underlying assertion behind this mode of reasoning is that those who are actively engaged in the normative political culture are best suited to make sure that it operates smoothly and effectively. To those who have a vested interest in maintaining the hegemony of one political party or ideological line above all others, this reductionist logic holds true. This argument, however, makes several false assumptions regarding both the nature of politics and the character of the political arena. With every regime or "democratic" government that has risen to power, there have also existed groups and movements that were opposed to the limited and farcical choices offered to them by the status quo. Many of these groups have included in their ranks artists, writers and pockets of middle class bohemians; university educated intellectuals, born to reap the benefits of a system they later swore to destroy. This particular sector of radicals and social outcasts has provided the twentieth century with scores of political critiques that have extended beyond the confines of parliamentary walls into the streets and bedrooms of those living under stifling conditions of advanced capitalism. Using the Surrealists, the often-mystified Situationist International, and the punk movement of the late seventies as a few key points of departure, this essay plans to explicate the relation that exists between the modern capitalist state and the artistic movements that have examined its influence on the consumption and production of art.
The tension that exists between the individuated artist and their relation to society can be explored through an examination of the avant-garde, and its relation to both the political and artistic realms. In his essay on the avant-garde, Peter Burger asserts " the preposition avant means not, at least not primarily, the claim to be in advance of contemporary art, but rather to be at the peak of social progress" ( Burger 186). It is this envisioning of a more tolerant and progressive world that allows for the expansion and realization of authentic experiences and desires that serves as the locus of the avant-garde as a movement. Thus, avant-garde art posits working towards its utopian goals above the actual pieces of artwork that an artist may produce (Burger 186). Inherent to this notion of placing intent over product is the idea of socially and politically radicalizing both the subject matter and the production of art.
In regard to the production of avant-garde art, Burger argues that "the artist's activity is avant-gardist not in the production of a new work, but because the artist intends with his work (or the renunciation of a work) something else: the realization of a utopia or the 'multiplication' of progress" (Burger 186). In sharp contrast to traditional ideas of progress which claim that technology and science will be the central forces in bringing about sweeping societal changes, the avant-garde views the progress of political and cultural institutions as being predicated on the application of art and creative impulses to the quotidian. Thus, the aim of avant-garde groups, such as the Surrealists, the SI, and later on, the punk movements, is to engage, (through the enterprise of art and literature), in a critique of modern society that extends beyond the confines of academic or artistic circles and into the streets, where it can be realized and applied through various artistic mediums. More specifically, this critique is predicated on a reexamination of traditional notions of progress, capitalism and even the enterprise of art itself.