A Hypothesis About Interethnic Arts Broad-Scale Effect
We are living in what should become the first moments of the post globalism era. With some feeling of decadence towards a single mega-cultural that consumes everything in its path; some should now be compelled to search for a kind of more well thought out cross-integration of cultures which can reinforce each respective cultures’ localegrity (local-integrity). In some logical sense, this is symbolically representative of the effort to cooperate in order to realize world-wide sustainable economic, cultural and environmental development. So it is also reasonable to assume that the products of such a process should also serve as stepping stones to cross applied indigenous sciences. Ideas of which are rooted in an entire spectrum of spiritual faiths, primitive and modern, systematic and semi-chaotic and more.
Adding substance to such assertions entails a complex effort of developing a toolkit and framework providing methodologies, indicators and therein iterative restructuring. This seems to be some of the work of the United Nations and other broad scale agencies. Scientific and sociological engineers may be most suitable for such technicalities. But for the sake of fostering philosophies and ideologies artists can have some certain function. Art that somehow represents and fortifies this attitude will help to bring the idea of sustainability beyond “entertainment documentaries”, “the political realm” and other passive informants into the minds and spirit of peoples. From my personal experience with this, which I consider my experiments in interethnic [in-tur-eth-nik] artwork, I constantly undergo reconsideration about just how deeply embedded ideas of commercialism, sensationalism and other not so meaningful powers have penetrated my own art making process. Through cross cultural exploration, and learning from others I received great assistance in further evoking the needed habits and fundamental values of humbleness, modesty and very importantly a willingness to listen with intent. Work deep in Japan, Russia, Mongolia, China over a ten year period.
Perhaps along with globalism, pseudo terms such as international art, cross cultural art and so on describe the phenomena of what products arouse as cultures collide in “immature” ways. According to all of the research and work of others I have come across, other than rigorously structured cross cultural collaborative art projects, the ongoing development of such training and technique for such individuals involved remains at the mercy of arbitrary aesthetic understanding regarding whatever “looks”, “sounds”, and/or “feels right” in the convoluted chaotic cultural confusion. There are even recognition of such niche traits as musical ethnographer, but what about "ethnographic musician"?
Although there are people trying to go across borders with their art making, an overall model for reference and technique development really does seem absent place. I find myself asking questions such as "how do we re-train ourselves to do art with a more vivid understanding (reference and dependence on) our inherent ethnocultural handicaps? How do we train the same energy that inspires us to do art to helps us start to break those ethnocultural handicaps? How can we use art to naturally involve ourselves into other ethnic cultures? How do we "study-up" towards other ethnic cultures art techniques and integrate our own techniques in ways the maximize profoundness in our creations? How do we share and explain these works to local audiences and collaborators? How do we find outlets, venues and contexts to publicize such work elsewhere and at home? How do we present it so that it will be more or less understood? In the process of answering, the fundamental paradox is that there is no one way to make art, yet a working model with guidelines and suggestions would be powerful, especially if from the very get go it was built across nations; that is exactly what I have been doing step by step for ten years.
For this sake, I believe we should make more specifications about the term “interethnic” , with such sub terms as “interethnic studies”, “interethnic art”, “interethnic music” and their relationship to a hardly developed biological anthropological term "hexis". In essence, the technique requires each pupil to engage in sentimental and authentic self searching through in-depth exploration of two or more distinct foreign ethnic cultures (to remove a certain kind of "bi-cultural prejudice") and then take it one step further by making and presenting art inspired by the process. The art should be developed through fieldwork, historical research, language study, indigenous art technique training etc. Transformation in the body with regards to "hexis" factor is also important.
- Academic understanding of interethnic folks studies/arts
