PROJECT SUN: A New Cultural Initiative / Oetkur
Umit
I am God’s Lion, not the lion of
passion.The sun is my lord. I have no longing except for the One. “Ali in
Battle” Jelaluddin Rumi (translated by Coleman Barks)
There is something religious about art. It’s not that artists are necessarily
religious, nor that works of art express religious themes. It’s that the
impulse to create art draws from a well deep in the soul. True art, the kind
that touches hearts, that gives new vision, that opens minds and exerts the
power to transform, that art must come from the spirit of a person in touch
with the creative force of life. That art can threaten repressive regimes
by breaking the shackles of dogma and propaganda. That art can ring
out with the cry of freedom and speak with the strength of reflection.
That art can give a new revelation to a people who have lost their way in
the desert and inspire a new generation with
hope. On January 26, 2001, a group of
25 Uighur artists presented such art at the State Museum of Arts, A.
Kasteev, in Almaty. Sponsored by the Soros- Kazakhstan Foundation, the
exhibition was as much a spiritual experience as an aesthetic presentation.
According to the organizers, two art historians, Kamila Lee
and Bayan Aldabergenova, “the idea of the art project
“SUN” is to gather together the diversity and wealth of the cultural
legacy of Uighurs by means of a synthesis of fine arts, poetry, music and
dance.” The project author, Arken Zulfikar of the Min Oy Gallery,
proposed “to draw the attention of society to the questions
of propaganda and the development of fine arts, the preservation of spiritual
tradition, and the ascent of the creative power among diverse Uighur
artists.” Gifted and respected Uighur artists assembled in Almaty from
Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Uighur artists from China had also
been invited, but unfortunately could not come. Although the reasons
were not given, the most likely explanation is that the same
government that persecutes the Falun Gong dislikes the thought of Uighur
artists convening “to continue to develop the original culture of their
own people.” The fact that Uighur artists in China convey
spiritual strength within the aesthetics of communist realism is a
tribute to their cultural wealth and creative life. Project SUN opened
with a round table discussion probing the sources of artistic inspiration.
The panelists examined the differences between aesthetics, ethics
and transcendental experiences, to use Kierkegaardian terms. Professor
Engel Iskhakov, artist and culturologist from Uzbekistan, explained
the signficance of the sun as a universal symbol of eternity, an
object of worship in ancient cultures, and a magnet to attract and restore
the scattered elements of Uighur culture, one of the most ancient in
Central Asia. The artist, Medat Kagarov, from Uzbekistan, gave an
inspiring talk on the value of Sufism in preserving the spiritual
traditions of the Uighurs over decades of Soviet repression. The well-known
Uighur artist and poet, Lekim Ibragimov, also read from his poetic
work “I was born 5000 years ago,” drawing inspiration from the deep
roots of the Uighur/Turkic peoples in the soil of Central Asia. After
lunch, the museum opened its doors to a large gathering of distinguished
guests for a dramatic and musical presentation called, “Raising the
Totem Column.” The Uighur artists collaborated together by painting
ancient symbols on paper and binding the sheets as the column was hauled up on
ropes. Music and dances, performed by the folklore group “Nava” and
a children’s dance group from the Republic Uighur Theatre of Music
Comedy, represented the different spiritual traditions that
influenced the history of the Uighur/Turkic peoples across five millennia.
These traditions included Tengrism (shamanism), Zoroastrianism,
Manichaeism, Buddhism, Nestorian Christianity and Islam. Traditional Uighur
music and song is rich and varied, integrating cultural and
spiritual sources into colorful ensembles of Uighur dancers moving rhythmically
and gracefully into patterns of aesthetic and spiritual
expression. There remained one question at the end
of the performance. How can monotheism and pantheism live together, other
than in an open society that allows artists to seek the fountain of renewal and
life? Perhaps it was symbolic that the paper totem was removed from
the exhibition hall, but the paintings, carpets and artifacts of art remained.
Like veins of gold, creative power can be found buried in the past,
but this currency of expression risks losing symbolic relevance for a
generation preparing to enter a new millennium. The past can offer
comfort, reassurance, identity, but it can only dimly light the way to
the future. Creative power must come from a soul in communion with the
creative force, with the sun, with the light from the heavens above, with
God the Creator. That was the ultimate message of
Soros-Kazakhstan’s Project SUN. Project SUN includes a three day
long retreat in the mountains for the artists to bond together, as well
as the production of a documentary film and the publication of a
catalogue of modern Uighur artists. The Kazakhstan State Art Museum A.
Kasteev will exhibit the works of Uighur artists until February 16.
The events surrounding the Project SUN symbolize the birth of a
movement, a new cultural initiative for Uighur artists coming
together from four separate countries.
