cultural relevance?

["Clive Murray-White" <clivemw@zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz>]

Hi Norman et all,

"Can sculpted stones be more than just "pretty" these days? And while it
sounds good to say
that sculpture can be symbolic of this or that in the culture, if really
pressed just what would that be in a modern piece?"

Of course, not necessarily, maybe, sometimes, yes, by accident - and so on.

Forming an opinion on one's notion of cultural relevance seems, from my
perspective, to be an essential component that should underpin everything we
choose to do as artists. After all our positions on questions such as this
have to go out into the world and argue their case against everybody
else's - whether we like it or not.

One of the most interesting things to do with cultural relevance is that it
is tied to the relative state or stage that our own national cultures may be
in, for example Australia is so young that we are preoccupied with asking
ourselves what our culture may actually contain, as artists we have that
wild sense that things that we do may act as a key brick in our first
overall wall. Whilst if I was an American I would probably be asking myself
questions like, "Were the 60's the high spot in our culture and are things
on the way down now?" In Britain, France and Europe it would be different
again, probably running along the lines, "is the stuff we call culture today
half as good as what we did a few centuries ago?" One of the silliest things
that Australians do is ask more mature cultures what they think of ours
hoping to hear something very encouraging, it's all a bit too like the
adolescent still requiring parental approval!

On of the things that I sense that people from all over the developed world
are either asking or plucking up courage to ask if this is really the best
we can do? Why does it feel as if it lacking so much? Have we let logical
argument get to much of an academic hold on art? Has the Modernist tradition
just about run out of puff and become the very thing that it set out to
overthrough, an Academy? Why did we so enthusiastically choose to throw just
about every component that formed a significant part of our cultural
heritage out during the 60's and why are we so reluctant to put back the
things that we now feel may be missing? Did we become so excited by the idea
of absolute artistic freedom that we are now embarrassed to admit that we
may have wasted that freedom?

Quite a few years ago now I had an Aboriginal student. I was always
impressed that unlike me he saw it as a key element in his art to keep his
extremely long cultural tradition alive. I found myself experiencing some
sense of cultural loss when I looked at what I did next to his, his was
infinitely more comprehensive than mine. And as I have no time at all for
Western artists inventing mock connections with cultures other than their
own I thought I'd investigate the idea of exploring my own very broken
cultural tradition.

The best thing I ever did.

Better stop now now.

Best wishes to you all

Clive Murray-White
Web: www.cowwarr.com