Me < > You

Me < >You.mp4

Me < > You

On top of the MusēOn door at The American School of Rio de Janeiro lies a sign. It's a small blue circle with an inscription around it that reads "This Blue Sphere We Share". It is meant for the visitor to reflect upon the deep connection between each living creature on the planet - all of them, and how interconnected and interdependent we are as an ecosystem.

The MusēOn has long been providing exhibits that frequently focus on one base holistic strategy: fostering empathy. Because it is when we think of the other, that true change can really happen. But this means not only thinking about your acquaintances, family members or even those in need. The MusēOn has been encouraging and provoking visitors to see the importance of acting upon empathy for ALL living things, helping the visitors understand the depth of interconnectedness.

Our new exhibit - Me < > You - was meant to continue on this road. Showing the many angles of the concepts of "Me" and "You". The theme was chosen last year, and all was set for our exhibition to open in March. But with the sudden Covid-19 pandemic, much has changed.

Everyone now is focused on remaining safe and practicing our social distancing. Distance is our current reality. But we weem set on diminishing this. After all, we have strived to connect with one another, we are reaching out more. People have been doing projects aimed at making everyone feel better, from balcony shows to help groups. Has the virus in a way, united us? Has it made us more compassionate?

Can we think of this outreach of ours as being in a way related to Ubuntu? Ubuntu is a deeply empathic philosophy centered on making people aware of each other and promoting fellowship among all. "I am because we are" is probably one of its greatest maxims. It makes us think of the well being of all of those around you. And how does Ubuntu link with what we are living today? How are its ideals played out now? How could we benefit from thinking of others? All other creatures?

And have our actions, industry and society focused on the well being of all living things? What if we put to question a global strategy that has its goal set on making overall development more sustainable. Here we are referring to the UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development. With who in mind were these goals designed for? Essentially, for human progress. Although it has profound noble purposes, directed on creating opportunities and equality for all, it has essentially left the remaining living things on earth almost as a backdrop (even building blocks) for this sustained human expansion. This is where perhaps, the manifesto written by futurist, video maker, and designer Anab Jain, can shed some light on the matter. In the article (a manifesto?) ‘Calling for a More-Than-Human Politics’, she argues the need to understand that all living things require consideration - even legally, as equals to humans. Here, more than human means policy-making that does not solely consider the human aspect, but all creatures and biomes.

Is this also Ubuntu?

A good question is if Frederich Hundertwasser was aware of this philosophy. He was a man ahead of his time. An architect, artist, and environmental activist, he was especially prominent during the 1960s through the 1980s. Much of his work was dedicated to acknowledging the need to enhance the importance of man's relation to the environment. Of the manifestos he wrote, It is the one about the '5 Skins' that is most relevant to this debate. In it, he described the individual's relation to his surroundings like the layers of an onion skin...the 5 Skins. The first skin: the epidermis, the body. The second skin: The Clothes, the individual identity. The third skin: a person's house, his/her family and personal things. The fourth skin: the social environment & collective identity. And the fifth skin: the global environment: ecology & mankind. If we consider this for a moment, how do these layers of 'skins' apply to each of us? And where does the virus connect? Is it at the initial level? Is it at a community level? Maybe all of them.

This brings us back to our exhibit. What if we were to understand that the idea of 'Me < > You' also has to do with our relation to the Coronavirus, and how it affects all of us? Or perhaps, the virus is here because of how things became so deeply interconnected! Consider how one century ago, it would have been unthinkable for a virus of this type to spread so fast. Today, one could be on the other side of the planet in a matter of hours, and not weeks (perhaps months) like it was then. We have become so efficient in moving around, that it is no surprise that this situation has gotten out of hand this quickly.

While we are all in quarantine, consider how the virus has separated and affected us all. But after all, has it also made us connect? How? Everywhere you look people are interacting and supporting one another in the most caring and sometimes creative ways. Some examples are simple to notice: singing from windows, using social media to connect, to comfort, to help and even to entertain. Paid websites are giving out their content for free. Charities are doubling efforts to ease the plight of those most in need. And even schools have adapted to distance teaching to the now more than 1.4 billion students without classes.

As an ending point, let us absorb the notion that we are social creatures. We generally love contact and proximity. "Me < > You" is both a reflection of this and a guide as to how we can reevaluate our relations, using the powerful ideas in Ubuntu, the 5 Skins, and politics that encompasses all living things. These notions could be seen as precious, life-changing tools that will help us emerge from the pandemic stronger, smarter and more empathic, making it possible for us to embrace each other once again as soon as it is safe.

Greetings to all and welcome to a new MusēOn exhibit!

We are, of course, meeting virtually. And with this situation we are presented with a unique opportunity; we are leaving reality a bit! We have invited live artists to participate, a giant virus and we even have a beach scene in the middle of the MusēOn!

Come on in, have a look, or read the text for each part.

What is different in the MusēOn this time? What can you notice that stands out from the other exhibits we've seen together? If we look this way, we can see three distinct areas to choose from; a giant artwork to the left, a beach scene at the center, and cubes that have 17 goals stated in the UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development.

• Why is there a beach scene?

• What are the Global Goals, do you remember them? Why are they here in this exhibit? What do they have to do with 'Me < > You'?

• What is that giant LCD screen that has the swirling image? How is it important to this MusēOn theme?

This is the Coronavirus. Here, floating - immense and present. This minuscule thing has changed our lives in many ways and is affecting all of us. At first, making us stay at home, doing our best to participate in the 'social distancing' efforts. But it also has disrupted our commerce, freedom to travel, our health, education, and most of what our society relies on.

Underneath the floating virus is an image. It is the diagram for the '5-Skins' idea suggested by Frederich Hundertwasser, an Austrian artist, architect, and environmental activist. It details how each individual can understand his relation to his surroundings, from his own skin to his home, family, community, and planet. This thinking wants us to strengthen the connections between each of us and our surroundings.

• Is there a relationship between the virus and the 5 Skins? What could it be?

• Does the virus actually connect us?

• How has the virus helped nature?

This is the diagram for the '5-Skins'. Have a look at it.

• How did Hundertwasser describe his relation to his surroundings?

• Do you see a relation to our current situation?

• How does this thinking relate to the 'Me < > You' theme?

• If you were to create your own version of the 5 Skins, what would it be?

My mother once told me of a class she had in design school. Her teacher had explained a situation many of us might have experienced before; she explained how once she went to a beach, set up her beach towel her beach umbrella, her cellphone, and headphones, so she could listen to her Spotify channel. All a nice setup! She relaxed a bit and felt the sun. But then this other individual sets up camp right next to her. Put his beach towel and umbrella and brought his boombox ghetto-blaster radio with him, playing loud music.

She then asked her students: "how much space was I occupying, how much space was he taking up?

We live in a community, and these little things matter. We take up space, we affect those around us in small and big ways. This thinking is similar to the Ubuntu philosophy from southern Africa. Ubuntu's famous phrase "I am because we are" shows deep concern and focus on the well being of everyone - a humanity towards others.

• How does Ubuntu make your think of the well being of others? Is the Ubuntu way of thinking something positive that you can use?

• Have you ever experienced a situation in which someone was taking up too much of your space? How did you feel?

On the left is a performance titled 'Rest Energy' (1980) by Marina Abramović and Ulay. On the right, a performance by actress Tilda Swinton and Cornella Parker titled 'The Maybe'.

The Lovers_ the Great Wall Walk (1988).mp4

'The Lovers' - 1988. An artistic performance by artists Marina Abramović and Ulay. In this performance both artists started a walk at each tip of the Great Wall of China, only to meet three months later at the center, where they parted their ways and ended their relationship.

How can we connect? How can we be separate? How are we interdependent of each other? A few interesting artists can shed some light on these questions. Marina Abramović and Ulay were a famous artistic couple. They are known for many art projects they did together, like the one above left; "Rest Energy". In that work, if one fails, she will be very injured. So it is a project about trust, about interdependence. Both artists had been romantically and professionally engaged for 12 years. But their relationship ended, and they felt that they had to part ways respecting their past work as a duo. Therefore they did an artistic performance called 'The Lovers' (above) where they walked the full length of the wall of China. Each began at the opposing ends of the wall and took 3 months to meet at the center, where they parted ways and ended their relationship.

Tilda Swinton and Cornella Parked worked together on a project called 'The Maybe', where Tilda spent many days in a glass box resting, or reading, while the public would walk around and see her. She was exhibiting her privacy at a distance, separated by the boundaries of the glass box.

• How do these works make you think of the exhibit? How does 'Me < > You' fit into all this?

• Why do you think Marina Abramović and Ulay choose to part ways like this?

• Have you ever participated in a 'trust game' where you have to fall backwards into someone's arms? Is this like the work 'Rest Energy"?

What is the relation the UN Global Goals have with the idea of 'Me < > You'? It is a guideline for sustainable development, paving the way for a more equal and inclusive development while protecting the environment. But what are those words above the boxes on the left? They are a collection of ideas that question the way we do things in society, industry, and politics. Developed by Anab Jain, this is a field guide to a 'more-than-human politics'. In it, she argues that we must think beyond the human needs and think of the needs of all living things.

• Are the UN Global Goals thinking of all living things, or just emphasizing the human needs?

• Should we consider the needs of all living creatures, how could we do that in reality?

Engram _ Data Sculpture for Melting Memories.mp4

Refik Anadol is an artist that uses computer data as his building material. He likes to refer to data as his 'paint'. By using the data acquired from algorithms, he builds large displays that show visually what that data could look like. He recently met with an uncle who could not remember where Refik had been. His uncle was beginning to show a symptom of Alzheimer's disease - loss of memory. Refik then put his uncle into an encephalography machine, to measure his uncle's brain waves (and data), and created a series of works called 'Melting Memories'.

• Is the work a picture of his uncle?

• Can data be a representation of a person?

• Am I my data? Am I data?

• How does this work relate to the idea of 'Me < > You'?

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