I quIt playIng chess In order to become an artIst

 

 

 

The poets mission is not to report but to struggle; not to play the spectator but to intervene actively.

Walter Benjamin, The author as producer

 

 

 

Introduction to research

 

 

The main concern driving my research is to investigate the artists’ function and its importance in society. I am going back to the questions: what is the use-value of art in class society? Can art participate/intervene in the social reality, and if so, how? As an artist, I will ask myself how should art operate in a capitalist system? Do we have the information we need to become artists, or are we just instruments of the economy? It is sad that most art production today seems not to contribute much improving. Instead, the many artefacts produced tend merely to function as commodities.

 

I am convinced that artists have a responsibility to use their creativity to address current problems. This sense of responsibility has led me to the global politics of water in order to analyse how social relations impact people and common goods. I began researching how the benefits of natural resources are shared (or not) and how the actions of corporations impact this sharing.

 

This led me to focus on water management. I found out that the dominant powers are claiming these resources as their own, that water, this crucial life component is not shared at all, and that the future will be extremely dusty for the nations at the bottom of this system. Through the politics of water I will analyze the limit between the powerful and powerless in the structures of our political, economical and social life. Important factors are the division between “loser“ and “winner“ countries, between poor and rich. What does it mean to be powerful or weak, and what does it mean to be used for another’s benefit. To research and investigate this problem through artistic means I developed the collaborative project Violentine’s Day. As an artist I will use small actions to reach people at the level of their daily life decisions, in order to link transparency about the system with common desire: to inform people, to try to built communication and participation.

 

These topics will help us to think about the importance of doing art and how art can help to change the rules of this class society. How can I, as an individual, respond to those issues? How art can participate or intervene in social reality? What kind of art practices can make artists to be more conscious of social problems and issues?

 

 

 

IndeX

 

      Starting point

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2. First part (It wills to overview general problematic key points on the water politics and crises.)

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4. Second part (It will present my artistic project that is done out of this research.)

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6. About the title: I quit play chess in order to become an artist.

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8. Epilogue