Cross-Cultural Encounters - Essay Example

ART AND HUMANITIES By 17 June Art and Humanities Introduction Throughout the history of humanity, art and artworks often became the source of the major conflicts and the objects of the serious disagreements. Empires sought to conquer new lands and to use their cultural achievements for their purposes. The cultural creations of the native populations turned into the tool of the cultural humiliation. Empires were not willing to use these works to better understand the historical and cultural heritage of their subjects. Today, the age of globalization imposes new requirements on culture but cross-cultural encounters are still a problem: the time has come to rethink the meaning of native cultures and arts and to create a more realistic cultural picture of native populations. Part 1. Cross-cultural encounters Cross-cultural encounters are the inevitable components of our daily interactions with other nations. Cross-cultural encounters are particularly problematic, when taking place between the dominating power and the nations that are subject to it. Not only do subjects have to comply with the power’s requirements, but they often fall the victims of their striving to protect their cultural heritage from disappearing. The discussed text tells several important things about cross-cultural encounters. First, western countries invest significant resources in their expeditions, to make these encounters real. The goals of these expeditions vary, from the need to explore primitive works of art to enrich the existing collections in western museums. In case of the Punitive Expedition, the specimens of bronze and ivory, as well as wood carvings would have become the key to the museum’s continuous success (Brown 2008). Unfortunately, the British Museum lost its chance to secure for the national collection the best representative elements of the Art of Benin (Brown 2008). Second, not always can western expeditions evaluate and recognize the true value of art specimens they find during their expeditions. That a government department sold numerous interesting articles for a few hundred pounds implies that governments are not always aware of the artistic, cultural, and humanistic value which these art specimens carry with them (Brown 2008). More often than not, cross-cultural encounters result in the discovery and appropriation of various works of art, which are culturally invaluable. Unfortunately, not always can the new owners look deeper into their cultural meaning. Third, cross-cultural encounters are an excellent source of new knowledge about other cultures. Cultural specimens provide primary, unbiased information about the state of other cultures and the role of each particular piece of art. Again, not all countries can view cross-cultural encounters as the source of primary cultural knowledge. For years and decades, Europe used the Art of Benin to confirm its imperial dominance and to deny Benin population the right for independent self-development. Art of Benin was interpreted as “primitive” compared with the modern works of European artists; as a result, cross-cultural encounters destabilized the pace of the cultural development in Benin. Finally, cross-cultural encounters imply that the time has come for the European expeditions to reconsider their approaches toward foreign art. If European nations cannot exist without promoting their imperial moods and conquering the nations that lack resources to resist the European invasion, the main task is to try to understand how to manage these peoples and how to make their lives satisfactory. Not only should European governments know what taxation is most suited to particular tribes; European governments must be able to interpret the works of foreign art without tearing them from the context, in which they had been created. Cross-cultural encounters could have been less bloody and traumatic to other peoples and nations, if Europeans could have been more attentive to the cultural needs of the societies they are willing to conquer and rule. Part 2. Why is the ownership of Benin art is so controversial? In the current state of culture and anthropology, many countries and individuals seek to acquire and possess unique works of native art. These works give them a sense of cultural superiority over other nations and provide them with the better opportunities to learn more about these cultures and their traditions. However, not all works of art are easy to possess. Today, the ownership of Benin art is one of the most controversial topics of discussion in art and humanities. In the 1890s, Benin was conquered by the British, and the military attack became one of the most painful moments in the history of Benin (Brown 2008). The independence was no longer valid; and Europeans became the sole possessors of the unique Benin art. Today, the ownership of Benin art is controversial for several reasons. First, it reminds of the tortures and bloody fights between the British and the residents of Benin. Second, it also reminds us of the cultural misunderstanding of Benin traditions and values. Third, those who possess Benin works of art tend to misinterpret their significance in ways that benefit the superiority of the British nation. All these problems put a shadow on the cultural meaning of Benin art in the eyes of Europeans. To begin with, the occupation of Benin by Britain was one of the most painful elements in the history of the small nation. The British occupation was a unique source of financial and cultural benefits for the British but did not benefit the Benin residents in any way. The British occupation of Benin was closely associated with the growing numbers of expeditions, which sought to obtain and possess the unique works of Benin art. The opposition and active resistance on the side of the Benin population did not lead to any positive results but, on the contrary, heated the fight between the enemies. As a result, the ownership of the Benin art reminds of the atrocities and murders, which happened as a result of the British striving to enrich themselves through Benin art. Many of the Benin art works that currently belong to Europeans were the results of the bloody fights between the British and the Benin armies. Furthermore, the ownership of Benin art is controversial as long as it reminds Europeans of their misunderstanding of Benin cultural heritage. What European conquerors deemed as human sacrifice was a completely different phenomenon, which Europeans could not explain. In a similar vein, what the British were able to find in Benin did not seem to carry any cultural value: for example, numerous brass plates were distributed among officers or sold to pay for the expedition (Brown 2008). To some extent, the ownership of Benin art reflects and reminds of the constant European unwillingness to look deeper into Benin cultural heritage and to understand its far-reaching cultural implications. Finally, the ownership of Benin art is controversial to the extent, which positions these works of art as primitive, compared with the advanced European culture. The urbanization of Europe, the development of science and technological progress, and the rapid evolution of cultures and arts makes the works of African nations look at least primitive and even barbaric. Unfortunately, Europe does not seem to be willing to recognize the cultural value of Benin art. On the contrary, the works of Benin art are used to reinterpret the history in ways that further reinforce the sense of superiority in the European nations compared with their African counterparts (Brown 2008). The works of Benin art do not carry only cultural significance but have a social meaning, which European empires use for their imperial purposes. The ownership of Benin art exemplifies and once again reminds of the cultural patrimony, where stronger nations deem appropriate to claim their right to possess the works of the world art. When Benin art works could become the source of truth and information about Benin culture, Europeans are much more concerned about their property rights. The ownership of these works will remain controversial as long as Europeans keep to “primitive” cultural beliefs about Art of Benin. Conclusion Throughout the human history, cross-cultural encounters used to be the sources of the major conflicts. The artworks which Europeans wanted to take from native populations and to possess created a serious controversy: instead of using those works to improve their cultural awareness, Europeans applied to native arts to reinforce the feeling of their own superiority. For this reason, the ownership of Art of Benin is controversial: it reminds Benin of the British occupation and thousands of innocent deaths. The time has come for Europeans to reconsider the meaning of art of Benin, to reject the outdated beliefs in “primitive art” and to accept the equality of cultural creations for granted. References Brown, RD 2008, Cultural encounters, book 3, The Open University. Read More