84. The universal and the specific in art

One of the themes in this blog is that of the universal and the specific (or individual). I discussed their interplay, in which a universal is abstracted from the individual and its specific context, to carry what is derived from it to novel contexts. That is a mechanism of learning by generalization. In the novel context, the universal is confronted with the richness of specific, new details, where it may fail to work and may fall apart. If this happens in several contexts, it may be reconstructed, in the form of a novel universal in the making. I connected this process to the hermeneutic circle, discussed in item 36 and to a cycle of invention, discussed in item 31. What is the relation to art, if any?

In a paper for the Dutch Prince Claus fund (dedicated to preservation of cultural heritage) Charlotte Huygens discusses themes that are, I think, related to this.

One topic in the paper is how in art exhibitions, which serve to present new contexts, art works can obtain new, multiple interpretations. This is related to the theme of locality and globalization. At the Documenta Art Exhibition in 2012 ‘ … interaction of art works with the local environment … formed an integral part of the concept’. This localization of art produces a dialogue (or ‘polylogue’) with other places.

A second theme is the relation between universalized, globalized art, footloose across the world, exhibited mostly in developed countries, and locally embedded crafts still tied to a specific heritage. The challenge is to connect them better, as a feature of exhibitions, as occurred in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, with ‘its mission to encourage classical, craft-based art forms as a source of inspiration for contemporary creation …’. Such cross-fertilization may break through the ‘.. pitfall … that cultural heritage and craft is associated with non-Western countries, …. considered to be in the past, whereas contemporary art is associated with Western civilization’. 

A third theme is that of art as resistance to dictatorship and totalitarianism where individuals are subjugated or even sacrificed to universalized ideologies. I would add, however, resistance also to similarly subjugating dogmas of capitalism, such as a universalized, context-independent regime of markets.

The three themes come together, I think, as follows. First, universalized art can adopt new meanings by being embedded in novel contexts with their own localized art and craft. Second, the resulting contrasts can jolt universalized art into novel experiments and shifts, to produce the emergence of novel universals. Third, such infusion from local heritage and local variety, diverse individuality, can prevent universals from becoming totalitarian, a steamroller that squashes individuality and variety, where everything becomes a carbon copy, a clone, a McDonald burger. In this way art is part of the rebellion of the individual against the threat of existing universals and contributes to the emergence and thriving of novel ones.

In conclusion, the mixing and meeting of the global and the local, the universal and the individual, in art and culture, is a crucial part of maintaining the vitality of art itself and of humanistic society.