WORD PICTURES

 

Those who claim that we live today in a visually oriented culture are probably word-blind. Today's visual art and visual media, with the possible exception of painting, still bear a master-slave relationship to elite literature and popular journalism - in the beginning was the Word. The word is power. People who can express themselves well and forcefully in speech and writing, more or less automatically achieve positions of power... while people who express themselves well in pictures, must often support themselves through stipends and other grants.

 

The producers of words dominate the cultural columns of newspapers, control official cultural policy and the most important visual media. And generally exert a damnably important influence on society. The arts in Sweden are infested by the speech chorus and the clatter of typewriters. Authors write screenplays and become film directors. Journalists become television producers (or programme directors) and make TV-films. Our entire culture is beset by word-producers. Authors, journalists, investigators, letter-writers, polemicists and critics. Who, in fact, knows anything about pictures? And why do we understand so little about visual semantics? Photography and motion pictures have existed for 100 years, television for 50. Despite this, pictures have not attained more than a purely illustrative function. Why? Probably, because most of our pictures are created by Word-people. In fact, roughly half the items on TV today could just as well be broadcast on radio instead.

 

Ture Sjölander 1973

 

 

 

 

 
Towards a Cultural Agenda 21
This is the final report from the KLYS World Conference on Culture 1998. The report presents the conference final document and other statements together with the main conference papers. Here you find summarized reports from the discussions and also some background documents as for example the Action Plan presented by the UNESCO Intergovernmental Conference on Cultural Policies for Development, held in Stockholm at the same time.

Table of Contents

Order form

 

Table of Contents
Preface 7

Acknowledgements 11

The conference 13

Conference Programme 63

Conference Papers 67

Statements
Final Declaration 68
Towards a Cultural "Agenda 21" 70
Message to the UNESCO Conference 73
And then? 75

Australia/Sweden - Conflict, Technology 84
Ture Sjölander
The future of our world hanging in the balance
The Impact of New Technologies on the Development of Culture

Bulgaria - Economy 90
Alexander Shurbanov
Security for the artist: At what Price?

Canada - Economy 97
Rex Deverell
Artists + Choice + Values + Survival

China - Economy 99
Zhang Jian Zhong
Contemporary Chinese Art in the World Cultural Scene

Cuba - Economy, conflict 109
Francisco Lopez-Sacha
Used Paper Writers

Cyprus - Conflict 114
Niki Marangou
A layer of sand

Cyprus - Conflict 118
Neshe Yashin
The Choice for Both

FR Jugoslavia - Conflict 124
Borca Pavicévic
Somewhere between Utopia, Compromise, and Post-modern

Georgia 128
Manana Dumbatze
M a n i f e s t o

Greenland - Economy 131
Karl-Elias Olsen
Planning of Greenland Artists' Organization

Iceland - Economy 133
Sigurdur A. Magnússon
A Persistent Dilemma

Israel - Conflict 139
Eran Baniel
"Go hence, to have more talks of these sad things"

Israel - Conflict 144
Sami Michael
The wish of the three profets

Lithuania - Economy 147
Vytautas Martinkus
Paradoxes of Lithuanian Arts and Culture

Mexico - Conflict 152
Homero Aridjis
Survival of Indigenous Cultures in Mexico

Norway - Economy 158
Bente Christensen
The Economic Status of the Writers - The Norwegian Situation

Pakistan - Conflict 166
Sarwat Mohiuddin
The Role of Culture in Areas of Conflict

Palestine - Conflict 171
Izzat Ghazzawi
The role of Culture in Areas of Conflict

Poland - General 176
Jerzy Woziwodzki
The status of the artists

Portugal - Technology, economy 179
Dr. Luíz Francisco Rebello
The impact of new technologies in the cultural field and the protection of authors' rights

Romania - Economy 182
Mihail-Cristian Lotreanu
The Romanian Art Labour Market and the European Union Security

Russia - Economy 184
Tamara Karsian
The Artists' Economic Status in Russia As per example of performers

Russia - Conflict 189
Olessia Turkina
Russia in Search of New Identity Art Identifies Conflict

The Same Area - Conflict 194
Jon Eldar Einejord
The situation of the Samis

Sweden - Technology 196
Peter Curman
The Digital Revolution or How to Give New Life to Gutenberg!

Sweden - General 202
Bernt Lindberg
What is culture today? What can it be tomorrow?

Turkey - Conflict 206
Sezer Duru
Not Wars But Cultures Should Spark One Another

Turkey - Conflict 210
Muhsin Kisilkaya
A common cultural heritage prevents civil war

Conference Participants 217

Appendixes 261

Appendix 1
The Islamabad Declaration 262
The Islamabad Declaration

Appendix 2
KLYS' comments to "Our Creative Diversity" 266
Official comment of The Swedish Joint Committee for Artistic and Literary Professionals (KLYS) on the UNESCO report "Our Creative Diversity"

Appendix 3
ECA's comments to the UNESCO agenda 274
ECA's comments to items on the agenda of the UNESCO conference in Stockholm on Cultural Policies for Development

Appendix 4
The Power of Culture 281
Action Plan for Cultural Policies for Development

 

ISBN:
91-630-6719-6
Publisher:
KLYS
Publishing year:
1998
Size:
130 x 210 mm
Pages:
298 pages
Price:
250 SEK

Conference Papers

(April 9, 1998)

Main Subject
C - The role of culture in areas of conflict
T - The impact of new technology on the development of culture
E - The economical status of the artist
 
Author Headline Subject Country Profession
C T E
Homero Aridjis Survival of Indigenous Cultures in Mexico C     Mexico Writer
Eran Baniel "Go hence, to have more talks of these sad things" C     Israel Theatre
Bente Christensen The Economical status of the Writers
the Norwegian situation
    E Norway Translator
Peter Curman Opening Speech       Sweden Poet
Peter Curman The Digital Revolution or how to Give New Life to Gutenberg!   T   Sweden Poet
Manana Dumbatze Manifesto - "Georgian Culture is up to despair"       Georgia Poet
Sezer Duru Not Wars but Cultures Should Spark one Another C     Turkey Writer, Transl.
Jon Eldar Einejord The situation of the Samis C     SameLand Principal
Izzat Ghazzawi The role of Culture in Areas of Conflict C     Palestine Writer
Zhang Jian Zhong Contemporary Chinese Art in the World Cultural Scene     E China Art
Bernt Lindberg What is culture today?
What can it be tomorrow?
      Sweden Art
Mihail-Cristian Lotreanu The Romanian Art Labour Market and the European Union Security     E Romania Art
Sigurdur A. Magnusson A Persistent Dilemma     E Iceland Writer
Niki Marangou A layer of sand C     Cyprus Poet, Art
Vytautas Martinkus Paradoxes of Lithuanian Arts and Culture     E Lithuania Eca
Sami Michael The wish of the three profets C     Israel Writer
Sarwat Mohiuddin The role of Culture in areas of conflict C     Pakistan Poet
Karl-Elias Olsen Planning of Greenland Artists’ Organization     E Greenland Museum
Borca Pavicevic Somewhere between Utopia, Compromise, and Post-modern C     FR Jugoslavia Drama
Luíz Francisco Rebello The impact of new technologies in the cultural field and the protection of authors's rights   T E Portugal Writer
Francisco Lopez-Sacha Used Paper Writers C   E Cuba Writer
Alexander Shurbanov Security for the artist: At what Price?     E Bulgaria Poet
Ture Sjölander Three papers C T E Australia Art
Oleysa Turkina Russia in Search of New Identity
Art Identifies Conflict
C     Russia Editor
Neshe Yashin The Choice for Both C     Cyprus Poet

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