hier geht es zur deutschen version
an appeal to all the people to become an artist and make the world more human again
at the CCC's street art contest (it´s already the 71.) you can find numerous works of artists of the public space every week.
but how do i become an artist?
according to a statement by josef beuys, anyone can be an artist, including you. this statement also elevates every person to a possible sender, i.e. someone who is important enough to communicate to the environment. every work of art reveals something about the artist. it is a part of the artist and makes him vulnerable. the human being is a creative being and usually has a desire to develop creatively. whether it is a craftsman, a gardener, a musician, an author or an artist, they all have in common that they intervene in their environment and change it.
when beuys talks about "i am a transmitter, i radiate," this can even almost be interpreted as a recitation of the bible, when it says there in mattheus 5,14: "you are the light of the world."
according to this, man is called to act creatively (light makes grow) and is supposed to be a light. this light shines when we act in love and find our calling. a central aspect to get to this point is to free ourselves from fears. through worries we let ourselves be filled with darkness and thus our light gets lost.
if we leave fear behind, a multifaceted mosaic of interests and talents opens up. unfortunately, we have been deprived of these by the schools. the majority of people do not pursue their profession out of vocation, but simply because they have to earn money. human beings of our time have been caught up in so many dependencies that they are hardly able to survive without money.
it is similar with learning. people learn out of compulsion and not because it gives them joy and they want to know something. this joy of learning is lost with school enrollment. however, working as well as learning is actually something wonderful and lies in the nature of man. learning by trial and error is prevented early on, but is of enormous importance, especially in artistic processes. the artist must dare to do something, only in this way can he progress and create something new. diligence, discipline and effort are part and parcel of artistic activity. a very wonderful example of an extremely disciplined artist is roman opalka, who made the documentation of time his life's work.
how wonderful it is for the craftsman to stand in front of the house he has built, for the gardener to marvel at his flowering garden, for the musician to listen to his sounds, for the author to hold his book in his hands and for the artist to look at his painting.
for Käpt'n Kalle, the most exciting kind of artistic creation is self-authorized art in the public space. it is addressed to everyone, not to a select, well-heeled and arrogant audience in the white cube. moreover, here every artist can appear without having to have an academic education or helpful contacts.
the wonderful thing about self-authorized art in public space is that neither a gallery nor a museum is needed. everyone can exhibit their art without being censored and at the same time usually reach a much larger audience than in a gallery. people are taken by surprise out of their everyday lives, possibly even knocked on the head, made to think. this is a wonderful way to express oneself artistically and at the same time to decentralize and co-determine the design of public space. we should demand our right to design our environment. after all, the lampposts, bridges, noise barriers, etc. belong to us through the taxes we pay. we are part-owners of public space - but in what world do we live that we are forbidden to make the mostly desolate space we help finance a little more beautiful?
the self-authorized artist in the public space can take action against these absurd developments, has the chance to make the space more human again and communicate. however, he must always reckon with the fact that his work can also quickly disappear.
and here now the photo for the contest this week: street art in public space in cape town (woodstock/2016) new market str. for the casual observer, the man on the ladder is also painted on the wall.
but now back to the question posted at the beginning: how do i become an artist?
first of all, it is important to understand that an artist, as beuys put it, functions as a sender. that is, a person who wants to appear as an artist needs something to send. art wants to be perceived, to be seen, only in this way can it have an effect. works of art that have never been seen by a human being can be as beautiful as they are, but they will never have an effect without a viewer. accordingly, a work of art must also have a viewer. here, the artist must concern himself with what he wants to send to the viewer. what is on his heart, what would he like to communicate. people always come to limits. language is a framework of expression to which the person who moves within it is bound. visual art is also a framework that in turn offers other ways than language for communication, as does music. all these frameworks have their justification and certainly appeal to a different audience. but the artist must not become a shallow entertainer. he has a responsibility and should move something and set it in motion.
final appeal
it is about time that finally more people become artists and reclaim the space in which they are and live. in doing so, it is important to keep in mind that there are enough destructive forces at work - there is no need for more of them.
self-authorized intervention in the public space should serve the people living there, include loving design, make people happy. criticism and questions should also be expressed. absolutely wrong motivations for intervening in the public space are the search for fame, recognition and wealth, as unfortunately exemplified by politics, architecture and the advertising industry. these intentions make people sick. those who act accordingly make themselves and others slaves to mammon.
it is time for constructive, edifying things and we should finally leave the centralized structures. in the meantime, we have seen long enough where these are leading us. it is time for decentralization also in the public space, not only at the computers.
the task of an artist should be to show ways to free oneself from slavery. so it doesn't only have to be pictures and graffiti that artists bring into the public space, creativity is required and areas may also be planted with greenery. here, the artist beuys, already mentioned at the beginning, can be taken as an example, who planted a number of 7000 oaks in kassel in 1982 for "documenta 7" - a scandal at that time. why don't we look for suitable areas (or create such) and plant fruit trees, flowers or vegetables there? the city belongs to us people and we should not leave it to the sick advertising industry, boring architects, corrupt politicians or bureaucratic monsters. it is high time to take brush, spade, (whatever- be brave) ... in your hands. let's finally get started!
what ideas do you have to beautify life in the community/our environment?