Expanding Internationalism - A Conference on ... - Mary Jane Jacob

"Notes on <strong>Internationalism</strong> and the International Exhibitions"
by
Beral Madra
Curator of the Istanbul Biennale
and Director, Galeri BM
Istanbul, Turkey
<strong>Internationalism</strong> today has its positive and negative aspects and
exposes a duality that must be overcome constantly in order to protect the
regional and cultural identities. The superficial internationalism created by
tourism, business interactions, media flow, television, and fashion is
building up a kind of cultural standardization. All over the world the
regional and the national qualities are wearing out.
These qualities have
been and still are the sources of cross fertilization, an essential process
for the development of the universal culture. The historical art regions
which are most Subject to touristic and commercial corruption, in both
physical and conceptual senses, are the primary victims of this kind of
internationalism. The superficial internationalism can be overcome through
reinforcing art and culture activities. Artists, traveling all over the world
and creating art works in situ for any given and chosen place, are leaving
behind evidences of real internationalism. The real internationality lies in
the confrontation of the distant references, diversities, or even conflicting
opposites, all developing into a new metaphor.
Since the beginning of the '80s the frontiers of the art world have
been rapidly expanding.
The conference in Glasgow (:M:lrch 1990) titled "Arts
Without Frontiers" dealt with this subject in length and depth.
The growing
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