Art versus propaganda

The difference between propaganda and art resides in the function of their signs.

The first is at the service of individualism while the latter serves the community (1) : 

 

1.  Animist visual signs were the “First arts” :

   
   As was ordained by their tribal quasi-contractual mission, the (wo)men of knowledge were expected to share their holistic vision of the world, or worldview, with their fellow tribesmen which they did by producing visual signs for all to share.
   
   The (wo)men of knowledge, who were in charge of the production of knowledge of their tribe, had understood early on that the sharing of such signs by all had the power to unify the group which boosted the trust among the individuals thus maximizing the cohesion of the group.
   
   These signs were the first art productions of humanity. The French have a special word for such tribal products. They call them “the arts premiers” or “the first arts”.





2. The first propaganda sign was Religious art :

   
   In the Tri-Continental-Area the shared religious narrative pictured the king, or the emperor, as the earthly representative of the celestial god. The citizens of each society shared a common religious narrative and power got thus legitimized by belief. The men of power counted thus on the religious narrative, or the creed, to unify the group in order to ensure the reproduction of their institutions over the long haul of multiple generations.
   
   The priests were in charge of transmitting the narrative from one generation to the next and to guide specialized image makers to illustrate the creed for all to share.
   
   Visual signs were thus considered instruments to manipulate the minds of the citizens in order to ensure the preservation of the privileges of the minority of men of power.





3. In China the animist “First Arts” were transformed into a scholastic exercise at perfection :

   
   In the territorial realm of the Chinese civilization the animist First Arts transformed into an exercise at scholastic perfection. In other words scholars used poetry, visual signs, and music to give signs about their traditional worldview which was considered the highest form of knowledge and their works were considered as the highest artistic expressions of the nation.
   
   This traditional worldview was animistic and was more particularly embedded in Daoism (2) and later in Chan Buddhism in China or Zen Buddhism in Japan (3).
   
   The works of scholars embellished the walls, or lightened the atmosphere of the residences, of the mandarins in charge of societal governance and the same goes on today. From there the aura (4) of these works has been, willy nilly, spreading down the social ladder first, in copies by commercial artists working for the aristocracy, then into popular folk prints and papercuts.  

 

The approach of the self, through the analytic lens of the arts, is most enlightening.

 

This understanding helps us to draw a clear separation line between :

• the propaganda of Early-Power-Societies + Western Modernity
• and the real art of tribal animism + Chinese Xieyi painting (5).

 Notes :

 

1. This is an extract from the text of volume 2 "Modernity"  from the series "From Modernity to After-Modernity" that I'm presently editing.
This extract comes from :
1.2.1. Western individualism built up in 5 phases
1.2.1.1. Emergence of the self as a limited social phenomenon

 

2. Daoism is rooted in the founding concepts of the “Yi-Jing or Book of Transformations”. Laoze gave the first systematic presentation of these concepts in a text known as the “Dao De Jing” (link to 60 different interactive translations). Other authors further elaborated on what transformed into a philosophic system. The most original of Laoze’s followers was “Zhuangzi”.
 

 

3. “Chan Buddhism” and its Japanese derivative ”Zen Buddhism”. Like Daoism Chan Buddhism emphasizes the individual’s direct insight into the nature of reality. It primarily advises gaining such wisdom through meditation.
 

 

4, The “Aura” of art on Tate’s website :

" The term was used by Walter Benjamin in his influential 1936 essay The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Benjamin argued that 'even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: Its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be.' He referred this unique cultural context i.e. 'its presence in time and space' as its 'aura'. "

Check Benjamin's essay "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction".
 

 

5.  Chinese Xieyi painting. On my Website "Painting and Thinking" :

" Xieyi painting aims to capture the Xi or energetic body underlying the Tao of the represented object. Gu Kaizhi an artist of the Jin Dynasty (c. 345-406) wrote that Xieji is "making the form show the spirit". It is often presented as the aphorism "painting in poetry and poetry in painting". Xieji is also often translated as "writing one's soul" but my preferred translation is "writing the meaning down". “Writing the meaning down” reflects indeed perfectly this idea of capturing the energetic body of the Tao of the represented object. "