Are we sheep or are we pretending?

26 May

The National Association for Contemporary Visual Arts invites Romanian and foreign artists to engage in a social aesthetics exercise titled "Are We Sheep or Are We Pretending?"

“The project is aimed at all creators interested in recalibrating the perception of the artist in the public space and consequently, interested in the debate surrounding the fact that the art world seems detached from the social and political world, out of sync with them. Art for art’s sake is not art for the public space, truly devoid of responsibility and social impact. The project “Are We Sheep or Are We Pretending?” seeks to address the relationship between art and society: on one hand, the social commitment of artists, and on the other hand, the commitment of society itself - as a space regulated / ordered by law and public opinion - towards the various forms of art and the values they convey.

Are we truly sheep? Have we truly given up proposing critical attitudes towards the values imposed by contemporary society - uniformity, conformity, and consumerism? The social function of the artist has gradually lost its substance, with their role often reduced to occupying a place in the table of socio-professional occupations. Or is it precisely “this role of being a sheep,” this tendency towards social seclusion, apparent non-combativeness, viewing art as an isolated domain, autonomous in relation to collective norms, as a closed field that elaborates its own acceptance norms, ultimately a form of resistance? A silent protest. Is elitism or the “ivory tower” one of the defensive strategies?”

— Daniel Sur, Lucian Muntean, Dana Dociu, Mirela Traistaru & Sorin Bejenaru.