How the creative world is adapting in an era riddled by pandemic
Over the past couple of months every single one of us has been affected by the corona virus pandemic in some way. Whether direct, indirect, big or small we must admit that our lives have, for the large part, been significantly changed as a result. Habits are changing; where leaving the house and forgetting a mask is suddenly a concern, or bumping elbows rather than fists, not only are recreational habits changing; the way we work has moved into the home, our friends have moved online, and our world has shrunk itself onto a tablet, phone or laptop screen. In the same regard we are seeing creative practices drastically change. Like Picasso said after the liberation of France: ‘I didn’t paint the war, but there’s no doubt the war was in my pictures’, creatives over the world cannot help but include the experience of living in a global pandemic into their work.
I would say that the main change we are seeing the world over in terms of creative practices is the idea of equality, especially in the way that the art world works. The shift away from physical to digital has taken away the elitism present in many art circles; many people interested in new art remain nervous of the frosty atmosphere of high-end galleries as well as art fairs the world over. The shift to digital has allowed the consumption of art to become more instantaneous and accessible. Within both the fashion and art world we have also seen a large shift to embrace the youth. This can be most directly seen in the creation of a Louis Vuitton skateboard team by creative director Virgil Abloh, signing Lucien Clarke, a Jamaican skateboarder as their first ever signed athlete. The creation of a skateboard team stands far removed from the previous meagre attempts made by Louis Vuitton and other high fashion houses to attract and capture youth subcultures. In the same way, the art world has now set its sights on art education, with New York and London, twin art capitals suffering the worst mortality rates, embracing the idea of ‘continuation’ as they see the majority of their populations being killed in the virus outbreak. This idea of continuation lends itself to inspire the youth of today as well as making contemporary art far more accessible than it was before.
The art world is certainly facing hardships, with many gallery openings and events being cancelled over the course of the past couple of months, artists are losing chances and money the world over. As is often quoted, ‘the artist’s job is to capture the moment’ as such we are seeing the art world respond in unique ways to a situation none of us have experienced. Largely many artists have taken this time to contextualise and look more deeply into their work. As Larry Gagosian said on the topic: ‘the test of time will be more meaningful, going deeper, taking more time to contextualise and digest’[1]. The idea of contextualising and taking the time to digest the situation is already apparent in various new exhibitions and contemporary works. The way that viewers ‘read’ art is changing and becoming closer to the introspective nature of literature rather than the aesthetic superficiality of a physical gallery’s experience. Kamel Mennour’s recent From Home exhibition threaded excerpts from Zola, Maupassant, Camus and Perec through a collection of bright, eccentric pieces themed around the indoor home space. The exhibition includes reworked interior essentials, such as a blue and pink piano or photos of the same view at two different times. Mennour asks us to question and change the emotional gaze we have on our most familiar environment: the home.
The reworking of household essentials such as seen in Kamel Mennour’s exhibition speaks volumes of the way the creative process and expression has changed with the emergence of the corona pandemic. Artists are now left to ask questions rather than simply capture beauty. The way we view certain items and situations has changed, nearly everyone now sees a mask as an essential thing to take out of the house with them, an item which sits amongst a phone or keys as things carried daily by the average person. As such art has reflected this and reacted to it. Although possibly done many times before, the reworking of what is familiar and common to the viewer, now takes on a different quality as we have seen everyday items change without the creative process being present. As such I feel it is the artist’s role to capture this changing relationship and the different perspective that is brought with it, especially by the viewer of the work of art. I feel that artists are personally becoming more accustomed to their familiar space rather than that which is unfamiliar. Artists continuously, and often, look for that which is unfamiliar and therefore will be unfamiliar for the viewer. However, the new trend of expressing that which is both familiar to the artist and viewer is hugely important, placing a new layer of complexity on that which is deemed ‘Normal’.
Written by Edsard Driessen
