CAA News Today

2018 Global Conversations
Border Crossings: The Migration of Art, People, and Ideas

Sponsored by the CAA-Getty International Program and CAA’s International Committee
Featuring five alumni of the CAA-Getty International Program

Panelist: Ildikó Fehér

Affiliation: Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts, Hungary

Paper Title: Art and Migration Politics

According to politicians discussing the migration of refugees into Europe, we live in the most critical times since World War II. My country, Hungary, is on the migration route from Syria to Western Europe. It will be a long and difficult process to understand the social effects and other consequences of this modern age’s migration. Still, the way artist, historians, and scientists deal with it and examine the subject can help to avoid fears, from the unknown to the unfamiliar.

Due to its political decisions, my country has frequently made headlines. There is no doubt that artists reacted immediately and in a very sensitive way to these new social challenges. I am convinced that we—art historians and professors—have the responsibility to study, document, and evaluate the works of art made by these artists in all of their aspects.

In addition to the state-run, state-sponsored art exhibitions, there are alternative, independent, off-the-main-stream presentations of art that express the opinion of many artists and intellectuals driven by the urge to document the plight of these immigrants and explore the facts of current events. They use methods such as photography, street art, new media, or in the case of painting, Hyperrealism, a previously popular style that has been reborn today.

Brexit is also dividing Europe. What is the ultimate goal for our political structure: a united continent or political independence that emphasizes national interests? Which one is preferred? My paper will discuss how these issues and dilemmas are explored in contemporary fine arts, and new media.