The Art of Choosing Project had allowed me to explore three completely different art forms on my own accord. To my surprise all of them had shared a common correlation with man’s primal self. Genesis by Sebastiao Salgado, Zero Tolerance at MoMA PS1, and Complexions Contemporary Ballet all put on display mankind’s most basic self.
At Zero Tolerance, I encountered images of protest. Men and women gathering in outcry over governments that dared to restrict their freedoms. Through documentaries, photographs and drawings, mankind’s fundamental desire of freedom was shown to be at the mercy of the governments it has established. Those that could not stand to have this most basic right taken from them took to the streets and voiced their grievances. This sets the stage for the overall idea of Zero Tolerance, the eternal conflict of control and freedom. This conflict is undoubtedly never ending which explains the large scope of the collection on display, ranging from the latter half of the 20th century to the present day.
The works displayed at Genesis captured mankind’s most basic self through photos that reflect groups of peoples that live in primitive hunter-gathering communities. Although the exhibit did not only cover man, but nature as well, you can learn much about our human condition through the photos of the different peoples all across the world that have “long escaped the long reach of today’s world.” It is remarkable to see how easily man can live in harmony with nature and although the words “uncivilized” are usually used to describe these peoples, they can just as easily describe us as such. It is our society and way of life that puts the most strain on the planet we live on. Although these primitive tribes are few in numbers today, they are able to show mankind’s basic desire of community. In our culture, we sometimes forget our connections to the communities we live in whether it be our own families, cities, or countries, but in these tribes and primitive bands of people, community is everything, because without community you are doomed to die. Each person in these groups relies on each and every other member due to their way of life.
Finally in Complexions Contemporary Ballet, we also encounter this sense of community. However, in this community conformity is encouraged. The performance started with one man standing out in front of others. He was out of place and soon realized the others behind him. He quickly gotten into his place on stage and danced with the others. The man originally in the front had looked confused before he eventually fell in-sync with the rest but despite this confusion he had joined in. It had made me question mob psychology in which people do things simply because others are doing them, even if they do not fully understand what it is that they are doing. What also added to the performance was the lack of clothing. This partial nudity usually symbolizes vulnerability. The movements of the dancers were also very unnatural, as they were contorting their bodies in very jerky movements. In the last dance of the night, in the music there was a lyric that stuck out to a member in our group: “If only fools are satisfied, [then] take my sanity away.” Now when reflecting upon this lyric I think this ties in completely to other observations. The lyric means that the only way to be satisfied is to be a fool, and it equates that having sanity makes you less of a fool. Sanity to me is mental health, being your own individual and being able to be one’s self. The man who had been sticking out at the beginning of the night gave away his sanity, he conformed to the rest of the group; he gave up his sanity in order to be satisfied.
