The economic crisis we are currently in has the entire world shaken to its core. Obviously, this is a terrible thing for everybody – the arts very much included. News of budget cuts is everywhere, and you don’t have to look very far to see something about cut backs that are specifically targeting the arts or cultural programming. As terrible as this all is, I have to wonder if there is a silver lining to it.
It seems that crises have always been excellent catalysts of artistic creation. Just to look back at the 20th century, a period that seems particularly characterized with instability, one can find
enough examples to fill unlimited pages. First, and perhaps most importantly, the First World War shattered the paradigm of western culture. The effects of that conflict engulfed the whole of society, but were particularly felt in the arts. In the field of painting, look at Otto Dix, George Grosz, and Francis Bacon (one of his works seen at the right) for visceral evidence of this. In literature, Hemingway is a prime example. In music, Schoenberg and the Second Viennese School, and atonalism in general had their roots in this period. Although Stravinsky was said to have famously broken the romantic tradition in western music with his Rite of Spring (which debuted in 1913, before the First World War) you don’t have to listen to too much music from that period to know that the upheaval created by the Great War is what really pushed things over the edge. Similarly, the Second World War brought out excellent art in the most terrible ways. My favorite example is Shostakovich’s devastating 7th Symphony, titled Leningrad, which was inspired by the German siege of that city in 1941. In addition to these calamities, there was the Great Depression, the conformity of the 1950’s, McCarthyism, the Cold War, etc. All of these things, however terrible, provided a great degree of horrific inspiration to artists in every field and region of earth.
What is it about times of tension that create such good art? There is no answer to that. Obviously, emotions run high in times like these, and there is definitely no lack of subject matter.
I think there is also something to be said for the way that these crises mandate the reformation of the national character and consciousness. The art of WWI exposed the failings of the radical nationalism that had paralyzed Europe at the beginning of the century, and the art of the 1950’s definitely did what it could to poke holes in the blind conformity that was sweeping the country. As cliché as it is, I love The Great Gatsby because I appreciate Fitzgerald’s critique of the warping of the American Dream during the 1920’s. This might not have been an economic crisis, but he definitely argued that it was a moral one.
How will the current global crisis play out in the art world? Like the 1920’s the materialism and greed which crept into the American Dream forced us to painfully reevaluate our personal and cultural positions. Although I can not say I enjoy the situation that we are in, I will say that I am interested in, and have high hopes for, the music and art it will inspire. I guess it’s a little something to look forward to.
It seems that crises have always been excellent catalysts of artistic creation. Just to look back at the 20th century, a period that seems particularly characterized with instability, one can find
enough examples to fill unlimited pages. First, and perhaps most importantly, the First World War shattered the paradigm of western culture. The effects of that conflict engulfed the whole of society, but were particularly felt in the arts. In the field of painting, look at Otto Dix, George Grosz, and Francis Bacon (one of his works seen at the right) for visceral evidence of this. In literature, Hemingway is a prime example. In music, Schoenberg and the Second Viennese School, and atonalism in general had their roots in this period. Although Stravinsky was said to have famously broken the romantic tradition in western music with his Rite of Spring (which debuted in 1913, before the First World War) you don’t have to listen to too much music from that period to know that the upheaval created by the Great War is what really pushed things over the edge. Similarly, the Second World War brought out excellent art in the most terrible ways. My favorite example is Shostakovich’s devastating 7th Symphony, titled Leningrad, which was inspired by the German siege of that city in 1941. In addition to these calamities, there was the Great Depression, the conformity of the 1950’s, McCarthyism, the Cold War, etc. All of these things, however terrible, provided a great degree of horrific inspiration to artists in every field and region of earth.What is it about times of tension that create such good art? There is no answer to that. Obviously, emotions run high in times like these, and there is definitely no lack of subject matter.
I think there is also something to be said for the way that these crises mandate the reformation of the national character and consciousness. The art of WWI exposed the failings of the radical nationalism that had paralyzed Europe at the beginning of the century, and the art of the 1950’s definitely did what it could to poke holes in the blind conformity that was sweeping the country. As cliché as it is, I love The Great Gatsby because I appreciate Fitzgerald’s critique of the warping of the American Dream during the 1920’s. This might not have been an economic crisis, but he definitely argued that it was a moral one.How will the current global crisis play out in the art world? Like the 1920’s the materialism and greed which crept into the American Dream forced us to painfully reevaluate our personal and cultural positions. Although I can not say I enjoy the situation that we are in, I will say that I am interested in, and have high hopes for, the music and art it will inspire. I guess it’s a little something to look forward to.
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