Karlheinz Stockhausen died earlier this month.While I was never a fan of the ‘avant-garde’ composer – indeed, I can’t say I’ve had the chance to hear any of his works – his legacy will be felt throughout the world of complex musicianship. It’s rumoured he had influences on artists including Lennon and Bjork.
But what will remain the most striking memory of his time on earth is not his pioneering ventures into electronica, but the following quote. First, a little scene setting…
It was a dark and stormy It’s September 16th, 2001. Karl is holding a press conference on his recent work “Licht” (I don’t know either), and he’s being pressed for comment on how the recent events in New York had affected him, in particular his views on the ‘harmony of humanity’:
“Well, what happened there is, of course — now all of you must adjust your brains — the biggest work of art there has ever been.“
Unsurprisingly, a furore followed and he was conceit in his apology, if not angered by his misrepresentation in some media.Indeed, when presented with this quote, the first reaction by many is disgust. But it warrants further dissection, rather than a simple emotional rejection: a little adjustment of the brain, so to speak…
Now, I’m no art philosopher, but I do have a position (probably somewhat simplistic to some) on what constitutes a ‘work of art’: Art is an action/creation that sets out to evoke a particular emotional response. Not just to cause ‘an emotion’, but to specifically target a particular reaction. i.e. “The Scream” demands agitation and perhaps fear; Handel’s “Messiah”, joy; Missy Higgins, depression and lesbianism.So let’s view 9/11 through this paradigm: What were the hijackers intentions (where does the apostrophe go there…Jono??)?
- To kill a fuckload of Americans
- Not really targeting an emotional response. Probably the least ‘important’ of their aims. Nevertheless, accomplished.
- Destroy ‘the pinnacles of capitalism’, the twin towers.
- A little more interesting… It seems aimed at driving despair into ‘Wall Street’, and perhaps reveal the weakness of the “American/Western” way of life, while also giving hope and joy to the radical extremes. Probably seen by the co-coordinators as more important than wiping out 3000 innocents. Accomplished.
- Strike fear into ‘The West’
- To evoke fear, terror, despair, horror, grief, loss, and mourning. ‘Shock and Awe’ anyone? The main aim. Accomplished.
There were also the emotions of disgust and hatred directed toward the attackers, radicals and even Islam. While not necessarily an ‘aim’ of the hijackers as such, there’s no doubt they would have appreciated that such reactions were inevitable. Just like ‘Pisschrist’ (or whatever it was) disgusted most while enraging some, such a strong emotional target is likely to produce some ‘emotional byproduct’. Indeed, it is the strength of the emotional reaction that sets 9/11 apart.It was a global work: no doubt helped by the very globalisation they detested, the hijackers single act gained such wide recognition that it is probably unparalleled in human history.Recalling Karl’s quote, this “was the biggest work of art there has ever been…”. The emotional responses, deliberately targeted by the hijackers, gained such a global and passionate response that it’s hard to argue against. The only way around his quote would seem to show another work of art that is greater.
- Firstly, no ‘traditional’ form of art – be it audible or visual – has had such global resonance.
- Other ‘global acts’ are not quite art.
- The atomic bombs of Nagasaki and Hiroshima don’t quite fit into the category of art: they had more of a strategic aim than scaring the shit of the general Japanese population, nor were they designed to evoke pride in the American psyche.
- Hitler’s Holocaust was designed simply to cull Aryan enemies into extinction.
- ‘Shock and Awe’ in Iraq, while suitably entitled, was aimed more at destroying Saddam’s infrastructure than scaring innocent Iraqi’s.
- The Boxing Day Tsunami was not man made (I love the interwebs).
- Live Earth Aid or whatever the fuck Geldoff et Bono et Gore and co. are up to these days is a) not art, b) western centric,
and c) stupid.
So anyway, I reckon Karl might have been onto something strangely meaningful, if disturbingly so… that is:
Is terrorism art?
...read me... 