In search of ‘Real’ Connection

Pandemics and catastrophes have existed since the beginning of time. However, in the twenty-first century, Covid-19 has induced an overpowering sense of dread. Like many other sectors, the art world was forced to shut down when the pandemic hit India in the first quarter of 2020. Museums were closed, and exhibitions were postponed. Everything was ambiguous. However, even in the face of difficult circumstances, culture and the arts survive. The concept is straightforward: the pandemic has compelled the art world to espouse the internet as its only possible showcase. Social distance has necessitated a new type of online engagement, one that has the potential to permanently transform how the art market and its players approach their internet presence. Of course, the other side of the coin is that the pandemic has exposed the art world’s heavy reliance on conventional distribution methods. Since the world has changed, and we have adjusted with it, the setting too has altered.

On the other hand, artists, on the whole, are tenacious in these challenging times. Through Art, they help individuals to comprehend and navigate this new reality. Being an artist entails being a visionary, and innovation is synonymous with the act of creation. Consequently, the community of artists and related institutions began revving up the innovation engine. They advanced trends that were still relatively narrow or experimented with. As a result of these advancements, we now live in an increasingly hybrid reality. Virtual galleries have started to spread like wildfire and are being used to display artists’ works using augmented reality. Digital presence is at the forefront of everyone’s thoughts now. Virtual events, concerts, and live dialogues proliferate on social media platforms. Because the online environment dilutes the physicality of the work, galleries and museums need to develop cutting-edge technologies to deliver a visual 3D experience that mimic the sensation of traveling through an actual location.

Besides, when it comes to virtual tours and support initiatives, the outcomes of experimenting with digital technologies have been quite beneficial. However, it’s not an easy shift for an industry that relies on face-to-face interactions and networking. Diverse modes of delivery are here to stay. One advantage of this is that audiences are now being addressed globally, rather not just locally. For art galleries and patrons, investing in the arts is just as essential as investing in education, industry, or defense. Modern masters, traditional patrons, and digital money have united to create a safe bet for an invigorated Indian art market in these unpredictable times. The art industry in our country is booming despite the hard-hit pandemic on the Indian subcontinent. According to artist Bose Krishnamachari, all of the auctions went smoothly. Last year, when shows went online, the art market fared well, says Krishnamachari, the head of the Kochi Biennale Foundation.[1]

It is also vital that art galleries and institutions direct their available resources and efforts toward sustaining the artistic community. Numerous programs benefiting the art community, both monetarily and in terms of exposure and grants to assist local artists with living expenses, have been established by various art galleries, collectives, and non-profit organizations.

At the same time, artists are now in a period of collaboration where cutting-edge technologies such as 3D printing, virtual reality, AI, biotechnology, and blockchain are brought together. Technology is no longer a passive tool for artistic expression in the twenty-first century. It serves as a conceptual foundation for actively comprehending the environment and a neural network that enables worldwide cooperation. As a result, technology has increased its influence to the point that it now determines how Art is made, what shape it takes, and what sort of societal value it may provide.

Everybody now can tour dozens of renowned art galleries, museums, and related institutions/organizations from the comfort of their own home, thanks to Google. However, the expansion of an online connection must serve more than auctions or market-oriented advances in the art world. Now is the time when we must deepen our links to our local communities and our being human. Simultaneously, we must build global solidarity online. As Prussian philosopher Wilhelm von Humboldt put it, “It is always our connection with other people that make our lives worth living.”[2]

Art’s new mission should address the critical issue of maintaining the humanity that distinguishes humans from machines in these high-tech and uncertain times. We need to foster an atmosphere wherein an artistic vision capable of transcending borders and reading between the lines can coexist with a technical imagination that elicits a new level of cooperation and manifestation. This might be an opportunity to pursue the path of coexistence via global cooperation and solidarity. Art’s role in society, and its ability to unite conflicting beliefs by traversing time and boundaries, is more essential than ever. Though Art cannot change the future, it may alter people’s views, which in turn can influence what follows.

Beyond a biological understanding of human beings, developing a cultural, social, historical, and ultimately holistic understanding of human society becomes necessary. The future is not an inescapable nirvana. It is a highly turbulent landscape that continually varies according to our imaginations. And whether it is an apocalypse or a paradise is determined by the current generation’s ideals and deeds. Only when the philosophical study of ‘how to see’ precedes ‘what to see’ can humanity discover the correct route through this cloud of information.

The purpose of this discourse is to get an understanding of human and societal values. We must raise the fundamental question of what and how to fulfill the demand for new meaning and experiences through technology. Rather than simply integrating technologies, works of Art that stir people’s emotions usually entail discussions between various ideals surrounding technology and humanity. Art must serve as a bridge across time and boundaries and a reminder of how creativity permits a complete knowledge of many histories and civilizations. Thus, Art must always serve a social and public function. It must consider the values of the era and the purpose as well as practices of Art within the framework of these principles. Art that promotes a tolerant worldview and can appreciate the variety and marginalized voices are the types of art one should anticipate in the future.

Among many, one such initiative is Gram Art Project. It is a socially engaged collaborative project among farmers, artists, women, and like-minded people located in the village Paradsinga, Madhya Pradesh. Their identities and values as a collective are woven together due to their shared interests and concerns. Women are the core strength and backbone of this project. Gram Art is a community forum where the village people may express their concerns using various socially and environmentally sustainable mediums and approaches. The collective promotes ecologically beneficial and viable lifestyle choices. Their goal is to revitalize and restore rural areas by increasing awareness about numerous economic, social, and environ(mental) challenges and provide long-term sustainable and ingenious solutions. They make every effort by employing unconventional approaches to achieve this.

Though the genre of Art cannot create an inoculation against the pandemic, it should unequivocally accomplish a social purpose by offering conceptual and creative immunity capable of inhibiting social communities from collapsing. Art has long served as a tool for healing. The cultures in which one creates and participate determine human experience. The arts nourish culture, which is comprised of customs, social interactions, and pursuits. Culture and the arts are inextricably linked, whether via music, food, or visual arts. Gram Art uses its creative effort to fulfill a societal purpose, protect its community from falling apart, and further strengthen its productive bond in these difficult times. The project outlines that there is a difference between mass production and production by the masses.

Moreover, I want to emphasize that both ‘on-site’ and ‘online’ are critical components of a project like Gram Art. These components also play a crucial role in the post-pandemic years of artistic production. So, in Gram Art Project, whether it’s sowing/growing/harvesting native seeds, or the extensive process of making seed bands/balls/sweets/firecrackers, or any other facet of site-based practices, each undertaking offers a unique and experiential component that contributes to the overall result. I also want to specify that while engaging with the community in a socially engaged art project, the process is just as essential as the product and sometimes even more than the latter. The ‘online’ digital platform plays a significant role in disseminating the collective’s special message to each and every local and global citizen, to escalate the potential of community participation further, and staging the intimate social connections of humanity, where Art is for society’s sake. The Gram art project has now expanded its purpose worldwide through social media, online discussions, conferences, and other means, in addition to transforming the local public sphere with their thoughts and deeds. In my opinion, this hybrid between physical and digital- ‘Phygital’ and Art serving a social purpose, during and in post-pandemic years is what lies ahead in Art.

Non-profit organizations like KHOJ, FICA, and a few others play a crucial role in developing exploratory, multidisciplinary, and critical contemporary art practices in India, such as Gram Art Project, continuously questioning the established order in the art world. Organizations like these try to foster change by enabling artists and audiences to engage with critical ecology and sustainability problems and encourage community involvement, emphasizing establishing alternative methodologies and learning via cooperation and exchange. Such organizations steadily increase India’s awareness and development of cutting-edge contemporary art practice through their effort and support.

New forms that emphasize our inherent connection rather than our separateness are needed, which evoke a sense of belonging to a greater totality rather than reflecting the solitary, estranged individual. The traditional assumptions about a nuclear ego that exists independently of everything else are becoming increasingly difficult to uphold in light of our changing circumstances. For instance, elevated individuality is far from a creative solution to the planet’s current demands, which necessitate intricate and sensitive forms of connection and linkage. Moreover, Art establishes the posture from which people examine the world with a tolerant approach while also providing insights that protect human cognition from being intruded upon by big data and artificial intelligence algorithms. As a result, contemporary technologically induced political, social, cultural, and environmental transformations are increasingly becoming art subjects. Numerous issues confronting humanity, such as human cohabitation with the environment, human coexistence with robots, and human coexistence with microbes, projects for the underprivileged, renewable power, aquatic habitats, and pollutants, are now research areas for artists.

Art can contribute to a more hopeful future for humankind insofar as it broadens the frontiers of vision. We are considering a creative process and a lens to see the world, not simply another medium. The fact that we are not alone, we are all in this together, and we all share the same basic human experience may be witnessed through Art. We share profound feelings through Art and are able to process events, make relationships, and make an influence.

As the world grapples with injustices that have existed for centuries but have been more evident and dramatic in a recent couple of years, Art must be utilized to build stronger communities. Art can help us understand not just ourselves but also each other on a deeper level. In the midst of this universal human dilemma, Art’s power to elicit empathy may aid in the reunification of the disadvantaged and those with opposing viewpoints, rebuilding societal cohesion. As a result, following the pandemic, we must gather our knowledge about the origins of Art, as well as its forms of existence and experience. In order to do the same, we must also consider what type of institutional and policy support is required. A flood of data is linking individuals with other people, countries, environment, and technology, as well as with human sensitivity rather than that of a machine. As a result, Art’s philosophical engagement with the fundamental question of how to reinterpret these relationships has never been more critical. As civilizations evolve, so do the personalities that carry them. The improved identity of artists in postmodern society necessitates a re-examination of Art’s relationship to the current state of the environment and also the expansion of the very notion of ‘Art.’

[1] Khan, F. (2021, July 17). Record-breaking sales animate the Indian art market during the pandemic. Moneycontrol. Retrieved September 8, 2021, from https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/trends/features/record-breaking-sales-animate-the-indian-art-market-during-the-pandemic-7185701.html.

[2] Al-Oraibi, M. (2021, July 4). A vital lesson the pandemic has taught us all is the value of human interaction. The National. Retrieved September 10, 2021, from https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/comment/a-vital-lesson-the-pandemic-has-taught-us-all-is-the-value-of-human-interaction-1.1136261.