-
Art and Cultural Identity of The Low Countries
- Leuven University Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
81 art and cuLturaL identity of the Low countries1 LUdo Beheydt cuLturaL identity Cultural identity is a hot issue in Europe. This is due to the great changes that have taken place there recently. The Treaties of Schengen and Maastricht have caused migration waves, and cultures tend to come into contact and conflict more easily. These contacts have strengthened the consciousness of cultural identity and cultural ethnicity. Cultural identity is claimed all over Europe now, not so much national identity but rather regional identity. The Irish, the Scots, the Welsh, the Bretons, the Catalans, the Frisians and the Flemish…they all claim their own cultural identity. It seems, therefore, the unification process in Europe has fostered feelings of regional cultural identity, instead of creating a ‘European identity’. But what is this so greatly cherished ‘cultural identity’? What does it mean to be Catalan, Irish or Flemish? What is meant by ‘the same culture’? There is a lot of controversy concerning the term ‘culture’. Already in 192 the cultural anthropologists A. Kroeber and C. Kluckhohn surveyed some 169 different definitions of ‘culture’, but without being able to provide an acceptable definition of the concept. However, two trends seem to prevail: an older ‘philosophical’ one and more recent ‘anthropological’ one. The philosophical interpretation goes back to the German philosophical idealism of Herder and Hegel, and considers ‘culture ’ as the higher development of the human Spirit as it finds its expression in art, music, literature, philosophy, religion and science . It is this interpretation that lies at the basis on those great comprehensive works on civilisation, like Jacob Burckhardt’s Die Kultur der Renaissance in Italien (1860) or Johan Huizinga’s Herfsttij der Middeleeuwen (1919). In general, this interpretation is monolithic, highly value-laden and only attributes importance to elite expressions. 1 This article was previously published in Lectures for the XXIst Century – 2008 (Volume 1). 82 The later anthropological interpretation of culture has a much wider scope. It defines culture as ‘the total lifestyle of society’, or as described by the cultural historian Peter Burke: “Culture is a system of shared meanings, attitudes and values, and the symbolic forms (performances, artefacts) in which they are expressed or embodied” (1987: xi).This broader interpretation of culture is not restricted to the higher expressions of humanity, but includes sports, entertainment, rituals, practices, norms and values. It is in keeping with this second interpretation of ‘culture’ that present-day ‘cultural identity’ has to be understood. Among anthropologists there seems to be a consensus that cultural identity is the group identity shared by a specific community. This identity is a product of ascription and self-ascription based on common traits, norms and values. The cultural identity of a group is an ‘imagined community’ (Anderson) with which individuals have identified and which they cling to. It is a dynamic concept that is promoted by making a few traits highly symbolic and which shifts under the influence of changing social circumstances. Though dynamic and highly contextual, there is a certain stability and continuity about it, based on a few core values: 1. A common language: Speaking a common language creates a discourse community in which common norms and values are translated into shared words. 2. A tradition of knowledge and ideas: Shared values and norms are constantly being transmitted through education and media, thus creating a kind of ‘mental programming’. 3. A common historical background that has a special meaning to the members of the community. 4. A religion: Sharing the same religion means sharing common values, norms and beliefs and taking part in the same rituals. . A form of art: Even though art is the creation of an individual, it will always be coloured by the culture in which the individual has grown up. Art is the embodiment of a specific cultural meaning. If we consider the Low Countries as a community that shares the same language, then we might ask whether the Low Countries also share the same cultural identity. In the romantic view of the 19th century it was often claimed that ‘the language is the whole nation’ (de taal is gansch het volk). Although I do not adhere to this point of view, it is my firm belief that language greatly determines the cultural identity of a community. However, language [3.238.118.192] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 11:53 GMT) 83 and culture are not so closely linked that sharing a language automatically implies sharing a culture. Actually, Geert Hofstede, the famous...