The Art of Impossible

The world has never emitted more CO2 than it did in 2022. This is despite code red reports, decades of exhaustive attention from the environmental movement, and countless crisis meetings among world leaders. According to the Global Carbon Budget, we burned more oil, coal, and gas than ever this year. We now have nine years to surpass the emissions budget for the 1.5-degree target. There is no lack of will. Many political reforms are implemented around the globe. Yes, there is a lot technological innovation and green investments. But the measurable results that matters are yet to be seen.

Culture drives change 

I’ve recently come to the realization that politics is, by nature, reactive, not proactive. It simply reflects the spirit of the times and will never be able to extend beyond the thresholds of widely accepted norms, values, and ideas about the future.  What is the key active ingredient in the alchemy of societal transformation?

Well, it´s art.

Though a transformative work of art hardly cuts down CO2 emissions, it can pose challenging questions, reveal truths that some want to hide, open up new perspectives, create a shared purpose, and mobilize for action. "When modes of music change, the fundamental laws of the State always change with them.", warned Plato in The Republic. Innovation in poetry, rhythm, and harmonies were dangerous for those in power; it bypassed logic and reason and appealed directly to the individual's emotions. Thus, it could challenge the stabilizing shared norms and narratives on which a robust state depends.

Peak irresponsibility

There are countless contemporary examples of this transformative power. Chinese artist Ai Weiwei is a living nightmare for the suppressive Chinese regime. By creating visual street art in Gaza, Banksy and local street artists constantly remind the world of the injustice committed in Palestine. Norwegian Mari Boine's powerful joik (traditional song style) revitalized the self-awareness of the Sami population. "Artists, to my mind, are the architects of change, and not the political legislators who implement change after the fact," wrote William Burroughs more than forty years ago.How we deal with biodiversity loss and climate change will forever define our generation. Exxon made breathtakingly accurate climate predictions as early as the 1970s. Now the worst-case scenarios are kicking in, but the party continues, and free drinks are still up for grabs in the bar of the sinking ship. The discrepancy between what we know and do is harder and harder to bear. We reached peak irresponsibility, and we all silently feel it. The role of art is to sing it, visualize it, find the words for it, perform it.

Last week I encountered two examples: I saw the Avatar movie based on the Gaia hypothesis, promoting balance and harmony between humans and nature. And I listened to “Love your mother,” a newly released album that revolves wholly around sustainability, by the folk band Real Ones from my hometown Bergen. The album is explicitly political but does not compromise on artistic aspirations. In 2023, it feels both natural and necessary. 

The resilient failed system

"Underneath the news, slow and deep, is a movement of long horizons and structural rethinking, not attracting much attention until it gets angry. But a rich and robust root system is growing, and its first green shoots are starting to break the surface.", wrote Brian Eno in The Economist recently. The backdrop was his participation at a "Fixing the Future" event in Barcelona, one of many events that creates an extensive, cross-political network of people, of which many are artists. "These are relationships held together by ideas: the scaffolding of a social movement," Eno says We know what to do and why we need to do it. When I asked the regenerative AI robot ChatGPT how to solve the climate crisis, it came up with a nine-point action plan, including more renewables, reduced energy consumption, tree planting, recycling, carbon credits, and increased grants for technology development. Every responsible person in power talks about the carbon-neutral future and has all the technocratic details on how to get there.

But the failed system is resilient. Those with technical and financial power define the technological and economic gravity. The combustion-industrial complex is protecting the value of its multi-trillion fossil assets. As I wrote in the first Remaker newsletter, the operative system of modernity also works within us. 

Cultural actors must take on the role of pathfinders to a different future. They are the ones that have the power to change the conversation. Art is not a robotic summary of things we already know. It is a profoundly human process characterized by critical reflection, conscious rule-breaking, and creative exploration. We need it more than ever because it awakens us and shatters the frameworks that hold back change.

Anders

This is the English version of The Remaker Newsletter, originally published in Norwegian by author & entrepreneur Anders Waage Nilsen. It will, over time, be developed to become a community-driven publication of sorts - the vision is to cross-pollinate people and ideas and open up for a richer conversation. I am open to connecting with potential collaborators and co-writers. 2023 will be the experiment and development phase of the project. Email [email protected] if you have feedback or ideas or want to join in. Sign up or share with a friend if this text resonates with you! 🔥