On Wednesday 3 December 2008, the 2008 Prince Claus Awards shall be presented in the Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ in Amsterdam.
The Prince Claus Fund has selected Culture and the Human Body as an area of special interest and as the theme for the 2008 Prince Claus Awards. The Prince Claus Fund seeks to identify individuals, groups and organisations that demonstrate ingenuity of human expression through or in relation to the body with positive impact on culture and development. Beauty, Eros, decoration, fashion, sports, health and meditation are cultural topics that relate to the Fund’s goals and activities and that could inspire many of us and many new avenues for development.
Human beings have an enduring fascination with the mortal workings and capacities of the body and the self. The human body is an ingenious organic system that to some extent can be operated by our will, but our bodies direct our behaviour as well. We are all under the influence of life-preserving instincts that are manifested as impulses to fulfil basic needs, as sublimated impulses, and as impulses to protect, preserve and develop the body and the mind.
One of the most important things for us is to have a healthy mind in a healthy body. To keep the body healthy a basic need is food – a need that has grown into a means of expressing cultural values. Other important needs are hygiene and keeping fit, and nowadays sports are a part of human cultures throughout the world. In sports the body can be used to gain social status and to push limits, as a bodybuilder does by growing physically bigger and more impressive. Movement can be used to enhance the balance between body, mind and soul, one of the objectives of yoga, martial arts and forms of meditation.
A great part of body culture is directed at attraction and seduction. In his philosophy Plato describes Eros as love conceived as a fundamental creative impulse having a sensual element. What is considered attractive or sensual is determined by culture and era. The shape and decoration of the human body changes through time but the decoration or shaping of the human body to conform to culturally defined ideals of beauty has also led to the binding of children's soft skulls and feet, the placing of rings around necks to stretch them, the removal of ribs to minimize waists, and today the sculpting of various parts of the body by plastic surgery.
Defined by culture and religion, sexuality can be expressed openly or be carefully hidden. There are countries where the body of a woman needs to be covered by a burka leaving just the eyes to be seen, while in another part of the world waitresses dressed in lingerie serve drinks.
Clothing is not just used to hide or emphasise the sensuality of the body but also to express ideas, beliefs and social status. This influences how people dress, how they style their hair, how they decorate themselves using make-up and jewels. Fashion and design focus on objects people use to protect and decorate their bodies.
When healthy, the body can be used in endless ways to express the inner world and motivations of humankind. The body becomes a tool for creation, a model, a muse, a canvas for art and for the expression of cultural or social status, religious beliefs and rituals. Body culture, arts and crafts through the ages and across cultures provide an insight into the fascination, perception and knowledge of the human body and the ways in which humans use the body to express themselves.
Body decoration is often part of rituals and may be related to expression of religious beliefs. Within Hindu rituals many examples can be found such as Vibhuti (sacred ash), henna and body piercing. Moko, the art of tattooing, has been used by the Maori of New Zealand as a sign of distinction, reserved for those who are most noble and accomplished. Alteration of the body, for example by circumcision, is a practice that sometimes has its origin in religion and cultural tradition. Patterns used in scarification have symbolic meanings and the process of scarification is often seen as a rite of passage or initiation. Other rituals closely related to the human body are the rituals surrounding death. Lifeless bodies have been made into exquisite mummies and have been burned or buried, accompanied by rituals performed by attendants.
Some rituals do not just alter but effectively mutilate the body or cross natural boundaries like the pain threshold. The ritual of female genital mutilation, which marks a step toward womanhood in some traditions but which critics argue steals or ruins women’s lives, is an example of how some rituals cross the boundaries of the body. Some people inflict pain or perform cruel rituals, such as chest suspension (being lifted up by metal hooks that are pierced through the flesh of one’s chest) or putting knives through skin, by their own choice (Sufi rituals) and some are victims of culturally defined opinions on the boundaries of the body. Sometimes the body is looked upon as a weapon that can be used and sacrificed to reach a greater goal. This violent use of the body can result in child soldiers being sacrificed in fighting a war or a suicide bomber giving up life and limbs for the greater cause. And culturally defined boundaries are crossed for example when the body is abused in a sexual way. Positive cultural work in these areas can have a major impact on social development.
The body is also fundamental to art. In the making of art each artist uses their body as a tool. In performing arts, in dance, theatre and mime, the body of the artist is the centre of the artwork or a bodily function like singing or movement is used. In other cases the body can serve as the canvas for a body painter or tattoo artist, and for example in the work Iranian artist Shirin Neshat, texts are written on the body of a woman. The body is frequently the most important subject in a work of art. Photographer Spencer Tunick takes it very physically by photographing more than a thousand naked people in a public space in different cities around the world. There is art that is inspired by (parts of) the human body or bodily functions, such as the sculptures by Orshi Drozdik that focus on the internal organs of the body, or the video by Palestinian artist Mona Hatoum based on a recording from inside the human body. Developments in technology have led to a relatively new focus on the virtual body, for example in the performances by Stelarc using medical instruments, prosthetics, robotics, virtual reality systems and the internet to explore alternate, intimate and involuntary interfaces with the body.
In Muslim culture it is forbidden to show the body in art so decorative styles take over. Inventions to replace human representation, or decorations that heighten all sensations, like in the Alhambra Palace in the south of Spain, are results of that concept. Burkas and veiling the body are part of Islamic culture, but in veiling there is also space for creativity and seduction, making the most of a limitation of possibilities.
All these aspects relate to cultural concepts of the body, from the circus performer to the soldier, from the veiled woman to the athlete, from the dancer to the lingerie designer, from the representation to the replacement. The role of, and approach to, the human body and the sanctuary of the body differ from one community to the next, raising questions and playing an important part in culture and development. The Fund seeks to identify individuals, groups and organisations that demonstrate ingenuity of human expression through or in relation to the body with positive impact on culture and development. Beauty, Eros, decoration, fashion, sports, health and meditation are cultural topics that relate to the Fund’s goals and activities and that could inspire many of us and many new avenues for development.
The theme of the 2008 awards is Culture and the Human Body . A design by Turkish fashion designer Erol Albayrak
The Committee for the Prince Claus Awards
Since 1997 the Prince Claus Awards are presented annually to artists, thinkers and cultural organisations in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Fund through its Awards programme, seeks to identify and celebrate artists, cultural groups and organisations in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, who are doing outstanding work to expose, analyse, reduce and resolve conflicts through their innovative cultural actions.
