ART & VULNERABLE

I am skeptical about the state of contemporary art from the 20th century to the present century. Anthropologist David Graeber argues that modernity has placed a disproportionate value on "creating something out of nothing" in production and labor, while devaluing the meaning of maintaining and caring for what has been created. The confinement of raising children to unpaid women's work within the household is a clear manifestation of this imbalance. The low wages in care work also have a significant impact. This excessive reliance on material, which symbolizes production, has led to a disregard for the psychological aspects that require care.

This skewed concept of production has had a strong influence on contemporary art. Contemporary art seems to place the greatest value on "creating something out of nothing." The result has been a proliferation of objects that may be surprising but often fail to truly touch the heart, becoming mere clutter when removed from their context in museums, galleries, public spaces, and so on. To put it bluntly, many of them lack substance and are hollow. The abundance of art that addresses social issues is often an excuse for the lack of substance in the artwork itself. I believe that the quality of the content can be measured by the extent to which a work can care for the hearts of its viewers, in other words, how deeply it can relate to the viewers' lives.

"Today, profit is paramount, and the value of caring for people is diminished. We need to put an end to such a society," Graeber said shortly before his death. I want to receive words like this as a testament in the field of art. Art, too, must put an end to an empty era. That's why I am focusing on the concept of "vulnerable." Vulnerable is a word that means weakness and fragility. To understand the importance of care, we must first deeply understand that our existence, in other words, our own hearts and bodies, are inherently weak, with the possibility of death. Artists must also recognize that weakness is the source of creation. Society and art have both avoided acknowledging weakness, so there is much work left for us to do.

When the pandemic occurred and non-essential outings and production were restricted, the one thing that could not be stopped was care work. This has revealed that care is at the heart of our society, and that those engaged in care are essential workers. Art is not just for expressing social issues; it should be able to take on those issues itself, by resonating with people's hearts.

If living strongly Is tormenting you, Then living weakly, As weak as possible, Is like nurturing a tiny flame Of a little heart Unwaveringly.

From the poetry collection "Toto to Koto" by Shigeto Tanaka.