The Struggle of the Global Centers of Art to Manipulate Minds: A Study in the Changes of Dominance

Abstract

The historical column of the art of painting, as the most prominent aesthetic human activity with a clear impact on individuals and groups, presented a series of stylistic, spatial and temporal shifts in terms of shifts of control, transmission and positioning at the top of the aesthetic pyramid. According to the difference between one centre and another, and as for the measurement of the depth of influence, its temporal duration and its continuity after the decline of that centre. The contemporary has become a cumulative and expanded stock, preserved by the memory of history. From this, it is clear that contemporaneity also lives under attraction, dialogue and acculturation, some of which are obvious and declared, while others are hidden and arise. This leads to intellectual manipulation arises according to the perceptions presented by the artwork in secret. It is established by a group of geographical locations around the world, which have circulation as global artistic centres where artists from around the world come to spread or learn. This increases the phenomenon of global aesthetic mobility. This study is an attempt by the researcher to reveal the image of aesthetic leadership and the global endeavour towards the forefront of artistic transmission and influence in the other. The subject is revealed in its declared details according to the definition of global hegemony since a long time ago and the path of transformations that accompanied the art between the rise of one centre and the decline of another until the contemporary. The researcher analysed four paintings from four global locations currently in aesthetic circulation. Her findings are as follows:
1. Artists addressed local styles in varying proportions despite the prevalence of globally agreed stylistic models in contemporary art. However, the degree of reliance on local style varied across art export centres.
2. National ideologies and affiliations influenced some art export centres by choosing vocabulary and employing international styles to present their ideas and reach the recipients' highest acceptance and understanding.
3. Whenever the artist wants to use the artistic medium to communicate his direct and hidden message, he adopts the simplified and easy method and avoids the coded method, so he turns to the most understandable and readable methods by the recipients in general.