Tic toc, tic toc... We are
sitting on a time bomb of our own making! Life on Earth is being
compromised and this is morally unpardonable because it is we
who are polluting the planet and warming up the world and it is we
who are therefore causing the climate crisis: ever more violent
catastrophies, ice melt, biodiversity loss, death and destruction and
disease... James Hansen, the former director of the NASA Goddard
Institute for Space Studies, states bluntly: “We are in a state of
planetary emergency!” Unless we get involved in serious climate
action, we are going to end up in a bad scenario for a disaster
movie: a few survivors, refugees on a no-man’s-land...
Tic toc, tic toc... How can artists, of all people,
possibly help us get involved in climate action?! Well, artists
influence how we feel, how we think, how we perceive the world, how
we relate to each other and our environment. Artists make people
aware of the causes of the climate crisis: overexploitation of
natural resources, exploitation of the workers, consumerism,
competition, social injustice, etc. That, you'll admit, is a huge
power! Artists make us open our eyes and encourage us to be curious
and to question. By sowing seeds of doubt about “the system” they
encourage us to find solutions; they incite us to rebel against those
that are destroying our beautiful world!
Tic toc... Artists can be eco-friendly, taking
fabulous photos or painting pretty pictures of the Wild, etc., and
that's nice, but I would argue that the artists that really
contribute to helping save the planet are those who are inspired by
people, by our solitude, powerlessness, suffering... We survive in
societies based on the envy, jealousy, competition, greed, waste and
loathing that cause the climate crisis! Good artists point the finger
at our moral failings.
Tic toc... Have you seen the movies “Parasite”,
“Knives Out” or “Us”? They condemn the abuse of power by the
rich. Street artists like Banksy, sculptors like Anthony Gormley,
painters like George Grosz, also make us question a society in which
a tiny minority is compromising our very survival. We can’t help
save the planet if there are people in need of the basics, if we’re
stressed all the time, and oppressed by capitalism! Is it not the
world-wide neoliberal capitalist system that is creating the
competitiveness and inequality that is ruining our planet and our
lives? Great artists can inspire us to act against injustice.
Tic toc... We need to acknowledge
the fact that we’re powerless to do anything if we try to do things
alone. Martin Luther
King could not have achieved what he did without thousands of
dedicated civil rights activists. Greta Thunberg would just be
another teenager without the members of FridaysForFuture. We need
leaders like them; thanks to them, we can imagine and believe in a
safer, healthier and happier world. But, we need first to become
committed to climate action, individually of course, but also
collectively because we’re in this crisis together!
Tic toc...
Most of the people I meet suffer from a deep lack of self-esteem most
of the time, mostly because of our ineffectual education system and
because Big Brother internet is making us brainless. If you don’t
even believe in yourself, being feckless is inevitable. Well, maybe
becoming an artist yourself can help! I am a member of a theater
troupe and that has given me self-worth and the ability to express
myself a bit better. If you want to find the courage to become
committed to helping save the planet, play an instrument, paint a
watercolour, make a movie!
Tic toc, tic toc... Why are you just sitting there
waiting for the time bomb to go off?
Hi Marius Ribiere! There is a word for "using art to fight for a cause", it is... "Artivism" (in French : "Artivisme" )! The word was invented in the late 90's to descripe the treasures of art that were deployed to raise awareness on political issues. As you say, it is now being used in the fight against the climate crisis. Using this keyword may help you in your research if you ever want to dig deeper into this subject.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, artivism is essential because it shows that activism can be done in a variety of manners, it shows that there are more fun and creative ways to protest ! Extinction Rebellion has its own "art group" ! It also makes the demonstrations more appealing for people who are not yet activists.
Cheers,
Paul Ha Duong
Hi Marius! Thanks for your brilliant talk (it's more of a speech)! It's really inspiring, and I can tell you are an actor committed to your cause of making the world a better place. You do not mention documentary films in your talk? Are they actually an art form?! Personally, though I love all types of art, it is documentaries that inspire me to ACT because they make me understand a little better why things are the way they are and what I, personally, can do about it. For example, I am eating a lot less meat now (and wasting less food) because I saw the documentary "Manger autrement - L'expérimentation" on Arte (https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/086137-000-A/manger-autrement-l-experimentation/). It's not an amazing piece of art but at least you understand better where food comes from and why it's important to buy locally and to choose organic. I saw another documentary, which is very "artistic" (I mean really slow!) and it makes me angry and sad, but it did not really help me to understand the injustices it points to or what, if anything, I can do about it... It's called: "Tu crois que la terre est morte" (also on Arte: https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/081578-000-A/tu-crois-que-la-terre-est-chose-morte/). I would like to know what YOU think of it! If I'm making a point, I think it's that art is great, but it would be good if more artists used their art to communicate more clearly their ideas (sometimes they kind of add to the confusion?) so that we know what we can do to change things (like: should I stop buying bananas from Martinique?).
ReplyDeleteRaphaël MARQUES writes: Hello Marius! I totally agree with almost all of your talk (which is a work of art in itself!) since I too think that Art is going to be vital in the coming revolution! However, being just another brainless sheep, brainwashed by “Big Brother Internet” and lost in an abusive universe of mind-numbing “entertainment”, if there isn’t a big red ostentatious “Warning!” notice next to the work of an artist, I would never know that it is really a work about the planet! Furthermore, as someone zombified by video games, if a work of art is a little too informative and wanting to raise my awareness a little bit too much, I am immediately exasperated! Who wants someone to be told: “SAVE THE PLANET! REDUCE YOUR CONSUMPTION! RECYCLE!” when all you want to do most of the time is watch funny kitten videos?! I know that I am in the wrong. But: who can save us from smashing into the iceberg (the metaphor is from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBliNe8XB94)? People do not want anyone telling them what to do (and that even includes climate activists like Yasmine who says we should “be ourselves”, cf. her brilliant talk!).
ReplyDeleteI believe that creating more and more Art may not be the best way to help us get involved in climate action; it may be better to make all the beautiful works of Art that already exist more accessible to more people (I mean: if their “message” is made more clear to us). If the “save the planet” message/dimension of Art is made clear (if the Art is less radical not to say less elitist), more people will want to get involved in climate action and so there will be greater results. What do you think Marius?
Maxime GAL writes: Marius, you chose a very original subject and a smart way to present things (climate crisis, etc.); it's a memorable talk! However, I would have liked a few more examples of artists committed (even indirectly) to climate action, and more details about their works of art. Have you heard of Laurent Tixador, Angelika Markul or Tomas Saraceno? Their artistic projects focus less on social and economic injustice, more on environmental issues...
ReplyDeleteIt was a pleasure to work on this video-talks project, but it would have been great to discuss face-to-face our ideas, don't you think?!
Lilou DEGOILLE writes: I find the talk by Marius very well written. It is clear about the dangers that our planet is facing. Yes, we are sitting on a time bomb of our own making: the planet is warming up because of man-made pollution and we are responsible for disasters like the loss of biodiversity, the melting of the ice floe, the increasing number of diseases. The James Hansen quote also made me think: in order to stop the destruction of our planet, we must act, both individually and collectively, because we are in this crisis together (Marius mentions artists who are committed to climate action). And I agree we need leaders like Greta Thunberg but she cannot achieve anything without massive support. The final sentence of the talk also made me think a lot because it is a very clear and true statement: many people are aware of what is happening in the world but actually do nothing about it...
ReplyDeleteMalaurie and Emma write: We find Marius' topic very interesting. He speaks really well and makes us want to listen to his speech. The play with the “tic toc” of the time bomb is funny but at the same time it makes you think about the errors we humans make. We think that his speech shows the reality of our society well and the situation of the planet. His words are a little bit provocative to make the audience react and we think it is important to be real and say the facts exactly as they are. Instead of seeing the truth in front of them, some people bury their head in the sand and do not face the reality of society and our planet’s situation. Maybe Marius could have developed more solutions that the audience could adopt to make the world better. He says that we can make music, art or create a film in favour of climate action, but we think the audience knows what they must do! Maybe he could give more examples on what we can include in the movie, the painting or the piece of music, to show our activism and the fact that we want to make things change. Otherwise, We agree with him; We really think that art was, is and will be used for a good reason and can be especially used to change the course of things on our planet. It is a good thing that he mentions famous personalities that are great leaders and that want to help our world. Greta Thunberg is a good example because she protested in a public space. That is how to become a great leader: go outside and face the world! We like the fact that at the very end, he asks the audience why they are still sitting in front of him and doing nothing for the planet. It is a bit provocative because when we hear that, we feel kind of stupid for doing nothing. This sentence with the tone he uses makes us want to save the world. It is a strong sentence in our opinion. It really is a good speech, with good arguments and examples, well done!
ReplyDelete