Douglas Coupland, Alexander Gerst and their sad view of the world
Generation X Author and conceptualist artist
Another interesting view how contemporary art interpret the modern world was shown on the example in the installation by Douglas Coupland
Douglas Coupland is a Canadian novelist also active as a artist and visual designer. He is the founder of the term Generation X and also the author of the novel with the same title. In visual arts his interest is directed the corrupting and seductive dimensions of pop culture and 20th century pop art and the another topic present in his arts is military imagery,
At first I did not pay much attention to his installation but I decided join in the heated conversation of some of the visitor and the curator of the collection. It turned out that Coupland had been involved in this project for serveral years collecting the globes that he purchased in numerous antique shops.
Different globs show the shift of the geo-political situation
His different globes that he had been meticulously collecting over years are stored to reflect his view of the world and its topical events. Globes themselves make an interesting collection of different styles and brands, among which we see some with Mickey Mouse motif. Each of them represent some historic period. Watching them, I became acutely aware how dramatically the politcal geography of our planet has changed. The former Soviet Union does not exist any more and its huge imperium got divided into smaller independent states. The East Germany got reunited and the communicst block fell apart.
The paint on one of the globes that is spread out from the top of the globe as if it was representing its scars that earth had received during its numerous wars and armed conflicts.
Reviewing the pictures struck me how visionary these works are in the face of present development. An German Astronaut Alexander Gerst posted on his blog shocking images captured during his mission in the space that were showing Israel and the Gaza Strip. He expressed in his blog post a deep grief about conflicts on Earth from space.
Alexander Gerst reported, with sadness, that he could actually see rocket explosions over the region as he passed overhead at night.
The images went viral. Shortly after one of the pictures has been retweeted more than 39,000 times. Gerst reportedly reflected on the grief he felt as he saw signs of the deadly conflict from the International Space Station, at an altitude of 248 miles (400 kilometers).
What is coming next then? Watching the wars and military fights on google maps in real time? The progressing technology is allowing us to watch these conflicts and not to solve them. The modern arts to document them and take a personal take of them. None of these can ever solve them.
