Contemporary Art

Nostalgia: a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. Origin: late 18th century, acute homesickness. from Greek nostos 'return home' + algos 'pain.'

I was surprised to find out during a critique session last week that there seems to be a general understanding among art teachers and students alike that nostalgic imagery and themes are off-limits (or maybe just too bourgeois) and should be avoided as a general rule of course. This sentiment was again reiterated by a student during a group discussion of Shelby Davis' work, who mentioned something to the effect that some of the subject matter verged on giving him a stomachache and he wondered if it wasn't getting too sentimental and saccharin to make a successful impact and suggesting that the approach might be somehow "too easy." Some of you may remember that Marc Voge from Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries thoughtfully responded that it is in fact really hard to make sincere art work that comes from a deeply personal place, especially in the contemporary art world which shares a general aversion to such approaches. He pointed out that after 9/11 there has been a surge of soul-seaching done by artists, which has led to much re-prioritization of what is most important and often exploration of more sentimental subjects and the nature of humanity. I think that this is also behind the return to craft movement that began around the same time, with both artists and non-artists returning to hand work and past traditions as a way of comforting themselves in the aftermath of tragedy and coping with the rampant fear. Someone once told me that there are actually acupressure points in our fingertips that relate to the heart chakra and aid in healing grief, which I like to think might explain the knitting and needle work revival that sprung up after 9/11 and continues today.

Nostalgia is actually a really complex aspect of human existence. Contained within it are a mesh of conflicting emotions, including melancholia, joy, pain, and disappointment. The subjects of loss and memory processes are also contained within nostalgic themes by default. And, these topics are explored in depth by scholars dedicated to photo theory, such as Roland Barthes. Much of this theory explores the idea that every photograph has some degree of melancholy affect in that the instant the image is captured it has already died; the moment is now the past, yet there is an attempt to hold on at the same time. These ideas are also extended to work that references photos or uses photographic processes in its production. Similar ideas about memory function are also explored in the study of Latin American Literature and the discussion of the existence of the phenomena of Realismo Magico (Magical Realism), in which the Jungian ideas of the collective unconscious actively come into play. I'm posting this to suggest that it might be useful to reconsider a prescribed reaction to specific emotional themes in art. Maybe they don't speak to one's personal aesthetic or maybe the general cynicism abundant in contemporary themes is clouding our vision, but an outright dismissal of any topic or exploration is limiting and verges on being dogmatic.

Here are just a few recent articles that explore some of the varied approaches and discussions about the subject of nostalgia in contemporary art:

Blast from the Past, ArtNews, January 2008

Air Kissing: Momenta Art, review, ArtNews, January 2008

Beauty Knows No Pain, Art Journal, Summer 2004

The Sentimental Image in Contemporary Art

Art 21: Season 4, Episode 1: Romance