What is power? Today’s #CoffeeTalk thoughts are on-how do we value what #power is? A high position? A lot of money? Connections? Followers? Or, could power be inner strength and not making the things mentioned above the priority of what we strive for or value as a society? Coffee Talk thoughts also on how much power does art have? As a tool for resistance or for propaganda, and as an industry. Here are some Coffee Talk spontaneous thoughts:
With great power comes great responsibility, a saying even used in Spider-Man (by Stan Lee), a comic where a spider / man saves people. This is probably the good side of what we think of power-or would want the purpose of power to be for, and so is this why some people strive for it? Therefore, do we perceive power as a responsibility? About the ability to share with others? Create ripple effects and build communities?
Or does the mention of the word power corrupt itself - in a sense even with the best of intentions, does power corrupt the essence of goodness? And how do we keep it in check? - tools such as technology and social media create bonds and give us all the potential to have a voice, but it also creates barriers into knowing or discovering what lies outside of our own bubble or chosen community, and therefore our perception of what one does and what it means in the world can be sometimes misconceived. A similar bubble that exists in any given industry. If we work long hours without rest or proper lunch hours, our perception of things, of power dynamics and what is important in the world may become blurred. Similarly in politics, power can make certain political parties or heads of state, think of their own power, rather than policy, and not see beyond their own circle.
So how much power does art have? As a tool it can create bonds between communities, heal trauma, depression and loneliness. It can also help with empathy, to build bridges, be a tool to document, recall, collect, resist and reclaim elements of power that governments may have taken from civil society. Art is a way to express our emotions or on issues in the world, bring forth different perspectives than "powers” (political or not-such as TV) may want to feed us.
As an industry, the art world isn’t probably any different to other industries-a business with hierarchies and relations. Banks maybe link up to art, for a power dynamic image. Some museums and institutions are now facing having to explain why they were allied with so many companies that have unfolded to be unethical. And so could we say that we used to associate power with money? And do we still do so? Now more than ever, as a society, or collective voices, are putting pressure on some institutions to change that dynamic, looking up to those who are ethical and seem to be doing the right thing for the world and society and asking those who aren't to change. This is also power.
How will tech affect our own powers? In a way we now all have a voice because of technology, it’s like a democratic image tool that put us all on the same playing field-until the notion of the amount of followers became important, money and ads came into play, then that power dynamic changed. With lack of privacy laws and citizen protection, algorythms having their power and bias, what happens to the power of our voice? Will it be harder and harder for people to speak out and even protest?
Art has often been used as a protest tool-that is why so many people in power have tried to stop artists throughout history, recognising that art is a power tool. As well as, knowledge is power (Sir Francis Bacon 1597), and why so many states have tried to stop people gaining knowledge or education.
Though sometimes we feel helpless when someone has power over us, we also have power over them, but the way things have been structured around us in the world, has meant that fear has sometimes been an element in the power dynamics.
Perhaps feeling more empathetic towards each other or injecting empathy in the way we run our society, listening to the other side, then each dynamic with its own power and perspective could come together and create an exchange of ideas rather than a power dynamic of a top down approach. Art can play a part in this exchange and speak when we may sometimes fear to.
If as Foucault states, power is everywhere, then power is also in spaces and places we may not think of. The word soft power comes to mind and all that entails through art and culture.
It is true to say that with power comes great responsibility, however, maybe even without power we should take responsibility for each other and that should not be lost through the wires or through our screens.
Power and art, and power itself, are such large topics, but through our coffee, chatted about these different elements and what came to mind spontaneoulsy.
What do you all think power means? And how much power do you think art has? Should we inject more empathy in our society?