Last night in Berlin, a German photographer, an American director of a start-up art organisation, and I, a Chinese-Hungarian art blogger and curator sat down for dinner in a quiet corner inside a traditional German restaurant. Surrounded by photographs of artists and intellectuals, a vintage print of Edward Hopper's Nighthawks caught my eyes. As we conversed, I often steered my eyes back to the print, as if the actors were calling me to join their table. It added another layer of surrealism to the surrounding, and to my question: why are 'we' all here? Who are these strangers hanging on the wall and why are they here? Who are these people sitting next to us and why are they here? And the most conspicuous of all, why am I here?
In spite of the exciting art scene and other apparent attractions Berlin offers -at least for me and other art professionals- I am, however, more inquisitive of the intrinsic nature of one's search for life by integrating him/herself into a new society and a new culture, while abandoning the habitual rule one abides in an environment one calls his/her own. Contemporary societies are made up of human decisions; it is sometimes cruel to think about nature's habitat will change according to a decision made by a human being, regardless of good or evil. In my opinion, human beings are in constant search of satisfying their senses. The idea of a culture is the construct of a group of geographically-constrained people sharing their innate senses and that they are satisfied. What I mean by senses here are the inherent five senses that reside in a human form, and something that's intrinsically humanistic. Each is unique in his/her own right, but culture determines but also confines oneself. In a globalising world where societies collide, and our senses broadened, it gives us more freedom to define our own culture and especially where and how we set our own cultures. I do not believe that the world is going to emerge into one culture, but rather into individualistic cultures without the constraint of geographic borders- people able to find their own ways of satisfying their senses.
It is rather absurd to think that another human being is alienated by a society based on his/her customs and behaviour, and not as an equal human being. This is not of a humanistic feature but rather animalistic -protective of its own herd- an obsolete mindset in the process of the human evolution. What I see in the metropolis like New York, London, Shanghai or even Berlin are just the beginning of a cultural integration phenomenon. As time progresses, cultures will no longer be determined by geography, race or customs, but by each and single one of us, and this to me is an exciting future which I hope our future generations will be able to celebrate. #culture #culturalintegration #integration #human #satisfaction #thoughts #living #future #migration