The Quintessence of Art’s Manoeuvre
Art, in whatever and however forms, is always “dangerous”. It always — not to say “rebels against” — challanges status quo. To the establishment of the status quo, art is a “catastrophe”, because it disseminates new perspectives and strange odours from which its presence and consequences have never been imagined, smelled, anticipated, or detected, thus being vulnerable to shaking old foundations that are starting to crumble and shake old buildings that appear to be frail. In this case, any expression in whatever forms and in any ways that haunts and persecutes the status quo — in the form of the state, political parties, mass organisations, institutions, networks, curriculum, systems, sects, even individual personalities — is an art, and therefore art is always political.
If it is not antagonistic vis-a-vis the status quo, then art is just like a frame containing a piece of diploma paper displayed on Instagram profiles and at the gate of the house. In short, art is always disruptive to anything and anybody, distracting both the regural life and the irregular life, though. The two “standards of living” are constantly rebuked and even criticised by an art(ist).
Here an art(ist) incarnates a kind of noise above the ceiling of your room, which keeps you awake all night because your mind doesn’t stop being disturbed by, and is intrigued to investigate, what-is-above-your-room-ceiling: a sound that interrupts your (ir)regular, adjourns your sleep, then sneaks into your mind, which is constantly audible both in noise and silence.
In due course, all art has a form to express those annoyances and criticisms by smuggling or injecting a “challenging sarcasm/satire”, something uncomfortable, obscene, to the status quo glasses, to your beautiful night’s sleep. If not, really, art suddenly turns into hilarious tips such as “five effective steps to success in life,” “efficacious lattices for working on CPNS questions,” “reliable wrench passes to become a BUMN employee,” “smart tips seducing a crush,” “three lucky screwdrivers to get samawa in marriage,” “powerful seconds to becoming an instant billionaire,” “seven magical doors to happiness in the world and the hereafter,” “magic tutorial to escape space scholarship,” “magic wrench to avoid problem marriage,” and other such jokes.
Let’s conclude with a spoonful of crisp sentence: that “all opposition and challenges to all kinds of establishments are the wettest expressions of art.”
Postscriptum:
Anything — be it in the form of casual photos, memes, voice recordings, video calls, or even wedding invitations — that injects one or more points that shake the establishment and foundations of the status quo, is art.
All art is always political. Otherwise, it is just a hunk or a frame of ornament. And all artists always have something to say. Otherwise, they simply become bank employees.[]