FREE YOUR MIND

Culture relativism is, by defintion, the principle that people should not judge the behavior of others using the standards of their own culture. The way an individual sees art is strictly though their own cultural standards or values, but by doing this their limiting their vision from seeing the bigger picture. There only pen pointing the cultural differences in the artwork not the actual meaning behind it. We must open owns minds and clear our vision. We must break away from these symptoms which can lead to disease, before it totally takes over our way on thinking, this Marco Polo Syndrome. What is montrous about this syndrome is that it perceives whatever is different as the carrier of life-threatening viruses rather that nutritional elements ( pg 218). We should absorb these differents as a "life giving" rathar then life threating. These cultures differences increase our view and brings us knowledge about the world around us. Why would we limit ourselves? This Marco Polo Syndrome has influenced us to label and exploit other cultures that are different from our own. Its affects the individual by viewing other cutlures artwork and other cultures in general, from an European perspective. The syndrome has kept us hostage long enough. The very fact of the rise of the idea of Eurocentrism demonstrates an awarness of the moncultural trap in which we have all found ourselves prisoners (pg 219). We must break away from this structured way of thinking and free our minds.



Kocur, Zoya and Leung, Simon. Theory in Contemporary Art
since 1985. Madden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2005. pp 218,219