Artists look at the big picture

Melbourne University professor says linking society, not technique, is what matters in a globalized world

By Margarita Pournara - Kathimerini

There are quite a few people who believe that contemporary artists are now more distanced than ever from social realities and that their only interest lies in attracting the attention of a curator or collector. However, overseas Greek Nikos Papastergiadis, an associate professor at the University of Melbourne who was in Thessaloniki recently to attend an inter-disciplinary conference of artists and historians, believes otherwise. In an interview with Kathimerini, he explains that artists today — in contrast to politicians — function as a link between different social groups and cultures.

Why do you think the role of the artist has changed?

No one is saying that artists are saints and have not got any ulterior motives. They often live isolated, almost monkish, lives. Their studio becomes their cell. Some of them experience a change of stance. They’ll say, “I don’t simply want to make a work of art, I want to organize a collective action: to participate in society.” In the age of Tintoretto, artists were mostly interested in perfecting a technique. In relation to the average person, they painted with incredible skill. Their strength lay in their technical expertise.

In the age of video art, artists know that their audience uses the same tools they do, and are maybe even more proficient at using them. There is no reason for them, therefore, to perfect their techniques, but they must open themselves to the world and search for new ideas.

What position do artists hold in a globalized world?

Artists today, regardless of where they come from, often share common interests because day-to-day life does not differ as much from one place to another as it used to. Modern cities are arenas of constant change, full of abandoned industrial areas. Artists are attracted to these spaces because they condense an entire history and an entire culture. They live in these areas, open their studios there, and conduct their research. Moving around on the fringes of society, in these underdeveloped pockets where abandoned buildings are found, they meet other social groups, such as immigrants and the underprivileged. It is therefore very natural to see that the work of many modern artists focuses on immigrants, the new face of cities, the problems faced by those who live outside the system.

Politicians are at the opposite end of the spectrum. Among the powerful parties in the Western world, for a politician to be considered a desirable candidate for election, he or she must compete with other politicians over who will most aggressively express his or her intention to keep immigrants outside the country’s borders. Tony Blair may consider himself a good Christian, but in the next election race he will certainly assure the British people that he will clamp down on illegal immigration. His rhetoric gives rise to fear, suspicion, exclusion and animosity. Artists, on the other hand, believe that in today’s world we are all connected as components of a globalized system. We cannot turn our backs on immigrants, but we must find a way to create socially responsible relations with them.

Does buying a painting depicting an immigrant change one’s viewpoint?

Art cannot enforce change in a society, but it can make us question stereotypes.

This interview was translated from the Greek text.