Do You Want Your Art To Pick You Up? Bring You Down? Or Leave You Cold?

We're healthy and fit, and boy we're having fun.

So, about those metro stations …. I’m serious about the Moscow Metro being one of my favorite places. The stops and various lines are connected by these incredible tunnels and I could spend days going from station to station looking at the art and architecture. However, I feel uncomfortable being so enthusiastic because everything about the tunnels and stations is the product of an immeasurably oppressive dictatorship. To enjoy the mosaics of Stalin waving to the people, at some inescapable level, seems like a sort of approval for Stalin’s government. What remains true, nonetheless, is that while Stalin told people in no uncertain terms what their art could and could not look like – an imperative that was brutally enforced – the form he chose as sanctioned Soviet art was not an accident. It was effective precisely because people responded to it and read it positively, and that enabled him to twist it into a powerful form of social control.

That brings us to – I am sorry to say – the wishy washy touchy feelie part. I am not a big fan of the touchy feelie part, not really into discussing emotions and art that makes you feel good. I prefer things that are more concrete. But, things don’t always work out how one would like, so here we are. Art, design, your environment, do effect your mood, how you feel and how you act. It may be subtle, but it’s there. I was thinking back to all of those apocalyptic films. The colors, the lack of light, the atmosphere, all create a sense of impending danger and discomfort, they often paint a world that is barren and evoke images of war and devastation. That only applies futuristic movies about a grim future. But the vision of the future, in a broader sense, that seems to be colored taupe and grey, constructed of concrete, glass and steel, isn’t very comforting or especially happy. It is an aesthetic born at a time when emerging industry and the ways that it was changing the world (and a number of years of war and economic struggle), meant that discipline, efficiency, cleanliness, functionality were highly valued. In a simple room with concrete walls, streamlined furniture in limited neutral colors, and minimal decoration, there isn’t a whole hell of a lot to do but be efficient. There are no distractions (until the computer — now there’s the distraction of the computer which can certainly make us inefficient, but comes with its own set of issues (for starters, it can be dehumanizing and disconnects us from each other perhaps even more than it connects us since it dramatically changes how we relate).

It seems to me that, because of our moment in history, an aesthetic which in another era looked desirable, now looks cold and unappealing. A world full of art, and art full of color, levity, humor, warm emotions, is just plain more fun. Art that’s accessible and easy to read is a lot less work for the viewer. These days, in ways, people are trying to undo the scramble toward the future. They’re trying to slow down, stop and smell the roses, appreciate the small things – my god, 100 years later we have come full circle and my family actually has a milkman, glass bottles outside the kitchen door and all. I think that’s why, as much as I can appreciate a bold abstract sculpture, a beautiful painting or a brooding photograph, I really love art with a sense of levity, that’s fun or amusing, that’s colorful and warm, and makes me happy. So I love the Moscow Metro. And that was the idea after all. Walking through the stations, looking at the art, life seems rich and full of warmth. The paintings say, “you are entering a life of bounty and joy, and hey, look who’s bringing it to you”. Sparkling mosaics, gold, ornate detail, say “you’re world is opulent and rich, and by the way, you’re having fun.” In spite of the massive disconnect between the aesthetic and reality, the power of art to induce and shape feelings, and even more, to shape how the viewer perceives and thinks about his world, is amazing. And in the wrong hands, phenomenally dangerous.

share this