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Articles by Marijke Synhaeve

This is not the end

i broke up with my boyfriend will he take me back Reality brings you wherever you are supposed to be, it brought me to my last blog article for ‘Arts in Conflict’. It’s the last one, a closing one and I’ve been thinking about the topic it should cover. I could choose one of the topics I am extremely interested in, for example drones or street art. Or maybe I was supposed to touch upon a very current theme, that’s what blogs are made for aren’t they? The fall-back of world heritage in Syria, for example. Maybe I should try to summarize the previous articles I wrote (from ‘Save the world (and my future job)’  to ‘Drawing warriers?’ , but what’s the point in doing so? I decided to close with a positive article. When the Treaty of Utrecht asked me to write for this blog, I immediately told them honestly that I knew nothing about art. I would figure it out, no worries and actually I did. Months later you still shouldn’t ask me about art techniques, about big names, about important upcoming events, but I knew and I know and believe in the immense power of art. Art can move you, me, world leaders and it does. I see that art can be a bridge between cultures (however we define ‘culture’), whether it’s high in the sky or down to earth. Actually, I love the one of the Tunisian artist eL Seed high in the sky: I see surfboards painted by Phillip George to improve communication between East and West, I enjoy the latest photo series of Steve McCurry titled ‘A world of prayer’. A quick Google search on ‘art + intercultural exchange’ gives thousands of relevant hits, so my list could go on for a while. It’s not only on those art events with a capital letter a. I am currently living in Bradford, ‘Curry capital’ of the UK. During a water spectacle in the city park people of different generations and backgrounds participate and enjoy, together. Art is almost like hitchhiking, it causes interactions no one could ever predict on the forehand. Sometimes it goes wrong, but most of the time it’s a valuable, unforgettable experience. So Huntington, I appreciate your work but I am glad you were wrong: I don’t see a clash of civilizations, I see all possible of mixed forms. We talk and listen and try to understand and in doing so, we use and we need the medium art. This century is a thrilling one in which we interconnect and I intensely enjoy being part of it! zp8497

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Save the world (and my future job)

A friend asked me what it is that attracts me to the field of development studies. I heard myself talking about equity, ethics, idealism, change and I was critical about it all. As it goes in conversations one topic leads to another, in this case the theme of our thesis. I talked about the topic I have in mind: partnerships between the public and the private sector, its dangers and immense opportunities. She interrupted: for the past fifteen minutes I had been giving critic on development aid so why not give prominence to that theme in my thesis? No, that’s what we have artists for (okay, and some academics). TINKEBELL, a controversial Dutch artist, for example. TINKEBELL, pseudonym of Katinka Simonse (1979), became known because of her provocative art: cat-killed-bag-made or her “Save the Pets” project where 95 hamsters were running around in so called hamster balls. I want to talk about her new, not yet finished, art project called “SAVE THE WORLD” in which TINKEBELL does world saving interventions across the globe to “show what happens when we force our (Dutch) view of the world on other cultures”. Thanks to TINKEBELL, a big heart was painted in the neighbourhood Rimac in Lima (see youtube fragment and this link), 69 turtles in Shanghai were saved as well as one Gambian streetdog, a home in Guinea-Bissau was IKEA-pimped (see youtube fragment) and one man in Beijing is intensely happy now. The next idea is to make a naked calendar [Dutch only] to help (to save) Philippian prostitutes. In her opinion there is Western superiority in development aid and of course, that statement lacks nuance: certainly not all development aid is fuelled by Western concepts anno 2012. Nevertheless, she caught a hot theme (who does not know anyone who set up their own development project?) and reached more listeners than the best scientific article on this topic ever

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‘Drones, but: don’t panic’

Currently, there is a debate concerning the use of drones in war zones. Interestingly, and not even astonishing, the discussion is giving new impetus now is said that the USA might expand the use of drones for domestic surveillance. Micah Zenko wrote an article titled ‘Drone, Sweat Drone’ in Foreign Policy arguing we shouldn’t be too worried about the use of drones for domestic surveillance. The first sentence says it all: ‘The debate over domestic surveillance is heating up. But don’t panic yet.’ Well, I do panic. The use of drones, whether or not for domestic use, is expanding rapidly and there are hardly any regulations to it. Fortunately we have artists reminding us of the terrifying outcomes of these cool technologies (watch the documentary ‘Remote Control War’ and see how cool it is). Think of the photojournalist Noor Behram documenting the aftermath of drone strikes in Pakistan, and James Bridle and Einar Sneve Martinussen in their project ‘Drone Shadows’ (see also picture above). For more artists creatively using drones in their work, click here. One might say I am messing up two different discussions: The use of drones in warfare can’t be compared to the use of drones for domestic surveillance. Does it matter whether you live in the USA or in Pakistan? From an ethical point of view, in my opinion, it doesn’t. Obviously, others people’s opinion might differ from mine. And if you have some more time: listen to this interesting and sometimes stunning radio interview on ethics and technology in war

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Street art in crisis

I love capital cities (at least for a couple of days). I intensely enjoy sitting at a busy street filled with moving people knowing that most of them have made a reasonable decision to move into precisely that direction at that time. It feels great to be part of that crowd of people, knowing that hardly anyone sees me. Capital cities have more to offer: A subway, having a metro network is almost an intrinsic feature of a capital city (and one of the most useful inventions ever). The dissatisfaction scratched into the windows, the boredom or declarations of love written down on the seats draws my attention time and time again. It implies that one day someone was sitting at the exact same spot and found this to be the best place to express their feelings, to voice their opinion: Vandalism and/or art, you name it. The Volkskrant, a Dutch newspaper, published an article titled ‘Greek crisis graffiti’ (no possibility to read it for free online, unfortunately). Following Cor Speksnijder, the writer of the article, the images ‘reflect a society that lost their illusions’ or, a couple of lines further in the article, ‘the cradle of humanity feels humiliated’. These graffiti pieces of art, like many graffiti, reflect a bulk of criticism (accompanied by frustration, anger and desperation) in this case criticism against capitalism, the consequences of the economic crisis, budgets cuts, politics, and the financial world. We see the personification of the next Greek economic model: a bikini wearing model with a wooden leg. For more images, click here or here. It is great to see that newspapers dare to spend two pages to street art, but how about what is written down on that metro

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Drawing warriors?

You are alive, without legs. You survived war, with traumatic injuries. I see your portrait in the New York Times. I do not see your face, I read a story. Five illustrators, all members of the Society of Illustrators in New York, were sent to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington D.C. with one instruction: Make portraits of service members wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. The artists were representing the Joe Bonham Project  (named after the famous anti-war novel ‘Johnny got his gun’ written by Dalton Trumbo in 1938 and later on turned into a movie? Yes, a small group of combat artists dedicated to documenting the experiences of wounded service members. What they created is not just a drawing, it is a portrait. Michael D. Fay, one of the illustrators and also the founder of the Joe Bonham Project, wrote down his experiences in a three-part series. A quote: ‘We introduce ourselves simply. We’re war artists and have been out in the fight multiple times with you guys; living under the same conditions and capturing your combat experiences in art. We then give them our basic vision of why we’re here: You guys are still in the fight and what you do every day to recover and make the absolute best of your new reality is important to your fellow Americans.’ The project serves several goals on both the individual and the societal level. The goal for the service members might be, on the one hand, to raise awareness by telling their story and showing their body (societal level) and, on the other hand, to promote mental recovery or, as Steve Mumford put it, ‘drawing makes people really feel seen, on an emotional plane’. Or, in the words of Sergeant Ross, who is continuing rehabilitation: ‘A photograph shows you what you see when you look at your reflection, but you get somebody to draw you, and it’s how they see you’. I believe they’re right: a creative medium can serve as a powerful tool in both raising awareness and helping to overcome tra

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Dear invader

We have: A nudist beach in Southern Europe. We have: Illegal immigrants washed up on that beach. Result: A fascinating opening scene of the movie titled ‘The invader’  directed by the Belgian video artist Nicolas Provost known for his short, experimental movies ‘Papillon d’amour’ and ‘Suspension’. Amadou (role performed by Issaka Sawadogo), one of the immigrants washed upon the beach and also the main character of the movie, arrives in Brussels where he falls in love with Agnès, a brilliant businesswomen. A short romance develops, but the illusion quickly shatters. Following Sawadogo, we see a man who sinks in destructive violence in his search for a better life. At the same time Provost wanted to say something about the time we are living in, a time in which societies are challenged by other cultures due to migration. When I was studying anthropology, the impact of globalization and the role of migration within and across border on ‘cultures’ (however you would like to define that) became a recurrent discussion theme. Migration interrupts, might lead to clashes (for an example, watch the movie or –even better- have a look around you) and it certainly creates possibilities. The latter is powerfully described in the book ‘The dignity of difference: How to avoid the clash of civilizations’ written by the orthodox Jew Jonathan Sacks, which must have been one of the books that influenced me the most during the past couple of years. His book is powerful call for human dignity in a globalizing world and a must read for anyone interested in the way people interact. Suggestion: Read the book and, once you finished it, enjoy the impressive debut feature of Pro

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