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Been thinking a lot of this Beuys piece and works from artists created during the span of the vietnam war and the civil rights movement. The optimism that if only there were enough dialogue created with their pieces, you could galvanize individuals to organize and together enact change.
I’m wondering if Beuys were alive today would he still hold onto that same sliver of hope?
(Joseph Beuys, I Like America and America Likes Me)
Jan 23, 2025
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đź“°
I do think that large scale war is more possible than it has ever been in our lifetimes. There's a powder keg feel to much of it. Towering empires, armed and empowered.
This thing that many western nations have experienced—several generations of peace—is a luxury, maybe even a historical anomaly.
Neither you or I (as far as I know) have our hands on the levers of power or command armies with our decrees.
But we aren't powerless. And one of my biggest concerns is the hallowing out of care for our communities.
Of course it starts with our own hearts:
Are there particular people groups that I'd like to see "get what's coming to them"?
We know that marginalizing people based on race and ethnicity and class and nationality is bad. But what about those people whose religion we think is narrow and harmful? Whose beliefs are wacky? Or who support causes we find offensive?
Do we find ourselves justified in wanting them to suffer because of what they think or say or which political faction they support?
— that's a dangerous place to live.
As an American who pays attention to the historical record, I can see that since its founding, my country has been marked by compromise, national sin, and perpetration of injustice. But I can also see that there have been times—around the second world war, for instance—when we were a force for global good: pushing back waves of fascism. That was only possible because of a willful working together among the people.
And "together among the people" seems to be a great area of vulnerability—"a house divided cannot stand"—and also the opportunity space where each of us can influence our communities for the better.
My challenge to me: show kindness and love to someone whose beliefs I dislike.
2d ago
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as someone who works adjacent to higher ed i often think about this. but i also always recall this toni morrison quote:
“I tell my students, 'When you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly trained for, just remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else. This is not just a grab-bag candy game.”
as someone who wants my career to be rooted in my ethics, i def have a very “be the change you want to see in the world” sort of outlook. it may be a bit corny but it def helps me navigate all these opposing issues alongside my personal beliefs. i think the “no ethical consumption under capitalism” idea is often be used by others to be dismissive of working toward change, but i also think, in your case, this phrase applies.
May 18, 2024
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His stuff proves that people were just as weary/traumatized a hundred years ago as we are now. And, that there is definitely an antidote. It might get worse before it gets better (rec-in-rec to read his "Fear and Misery...".) But, he really believes that personal growth up and out of despair starts with evaluating how media affects our perception of the world. I'm really into Bert. An earnest guy that gives me hope.
Jan 30, 2024
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