Art for art’s sake
Creativity at 8,000 feet
“I feel like I’m in New York City,” I responded when asked about my impressions of Bogotá. The interrogator, who was an upper-class, middle-aged housewife, scoffed at my comparison. She said something along the lines ofÑ But New York is so beautiful! Central Park, Manhattan! Bogotá is a mess, it’s so unsafe and messy. It’s nothing like New York.
This is, in my opinion, depends entirely on your perspective.
Yes, Bogotá is a mess if you’re comparing it to the Upper West Side or Fifth Avenue. But if you’re comparing it to Brooklyn or Somerville or any other place with a vibrant art scene, then yeah, it’s pretty rad.
In the month that I have been living in downtown Bogotá, I’ve been to 5 concerts, 1 short film screening, 1 play, 2 art festival openings, 1 theatre festival launch event, 1 micro-book collective launch, and 1 experimental art exhibition. I know, it’s pretty insane.
Creative energy surges through the city, from the creative gayborhood of Chapinero, to the historic, tourist hub of La Candelaria. So, why is Bogotá so vibrant? How did this scene develop? Why Bogotá and not Quito or Lima, nearby South American capitals with much smaller creative scenes?
I have a couple of theories.
1. Is it possible that art is best produced in conflict and chaos?
When you live in a metropolis like Bogotá, you might be more compelled to search for a creative outlet as a means of managing the daily stress of the city. Confronted with a vibrant art scene, people are inspired and compelled to make art and then contribute to said art scene. It’s a cycle that feeds itself effortlessly.
When your country has been in conflict for well over half a century, art is necessary. Some of the best art gets made in tumultuous times. Just days after the 2016 U.S. election, artists were calling on each other to make art, “now more than ever.” In January 2018, on the anniversary of 45’s inauguration, artists across the US came together in what they called an “Art Action Day.” This was an opportunity to claim creative and expressive space and remember that “Art is essential to democracy.”
Maybe that’s what’s going on in Bogotá. Art is flourishing because self-expression and creativity are a form of protest. Protest for all of the violence, displacement, and corruption that has characterized the country’s recent history.
2. For some artists, dedicating themselves to their craft, beyond more material concerns, might be a way of rejecting imperialist, capitalist notions of success.
I see my cousin committing himself with razor-like concentration to his micro-book-binding and dissemination project. It is a collective, literary project that is not at all profit-driven. It is driven by creativity and shared ideals around publishing, ownership, and the democratization of literature. How many Americans can say that they spend most of their time doing something based on an ideal for which they are passionate and spend very little of their time working toward a profitable end?
I, for one, have been reconsidering my belief system based on the people I have met here so far: actors, musicians, and dancers who are laser-focused on their craft. When you’re focused on creative production, your vision of success might be more malleable and less tied to socioeconomic mobility.
Meanwhile, beyond the creative class, many Colombians are extremely focused on money — whether they have to be because they have so little of it, or because they have an unreasonable amount of it and they want more. Colombia struggles with an extremely high inequality index — the country’s 3 richest men earn more than 10% of its GDP. Walking around the Northern Bogotá neighborhoods of Rosales or Chicó, it’s easy to see where the money is. The country’s political and business classes wield their power over the masses, buying votes and sealing business deals to secure their positions. At the other end of the spectrum, Colombia’s minimum wage earners are making it on an unlivable 828,116 COP, or $245 USD per month.
Beyond this rampant inequality, there thankfully exists a woke, intellectual, artist class that calls the whole system into question.
I’m grateful to have been born into a family of artists and musicians who have always taught me to think critically and to put my passions first. And yet, my upbringing in the U.S. and what I learned in high school and college has always been at odds with this. My extremely competitive high school emphasized the importance of doing whatever it took to get into a top college so that you could “be successful.” My college, despite it’s liberal arts focus, pushed finance and management consulting as first-rate career options for graduating seniors. But to what end? For economic security? For perceived success? To achieve the American dream?
I’m starting to think art is the only way forward. Why struggle through life without a creative outlet? No amount of money can match the joy of making and appreciating good art.
Yes, going to as many arts events as I have in a 1-month period has taken a certain amount of interest and effort. But I haven’t necessarily been actively seeking out these events. They are just staring me in the face everywhere I go, beckoning me to attend and to appreciate all of the creativity that this chaos-of-a-city has to offer.
