Ordinary culture in a world of strangers: toward cosmopolitan cultural policy *

The image of Zwarte Piet, as part of Dutch Sinterklaas celebrations has caused heated debate in the past decade, which has polarized tensions between the ‘Dutch’ and ‘strangers’. This article argues that the debate cannot be resolved within a framework of a methodologically nationalist cultural policy. Building on Kwame Anthony Appiah’s book Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers, I argue that a cosmopolitan framework for belonging is not only a normative but also a policy imperative. Cultural policy should recognize our shared global belonging, rather than building a national polis predicated on difference that sets us apart. However, a methodologically cosmopolitan cultural policy cannot be a blanket approach to replace or undermine national frameworks. It should embed the nation in a cosmopolitan public policy to accommodate cultural and religious diversity under globalization that has irrevocably eroded the illusion of a national unity.     

Toward Abstraction Ranking European Painters of the Early Twentieth Century

Abstract. Paris was the unrivaled capital of modern art in the nineteenth century, but during the early twentieth century major innovations began to be made elsewhere in Europe. The author examined the careers of the artists who led such movements as Italian Futurism, German Expressionism, Holland's De Stijl, and Russia's Suprematism. Quantitative analysis revealed the implications of the conceptual basis of the art of Umberto Boccioni, Giorgio de Chirico, Kazimir Malevich, and Edvard Munch, and of the experimental origin of the innovations of Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, and Piet Mondrian. The finding that the invention of abstract art was made nearly simultaneously by the conceptual Malevich and the experimental Kandinsky and Mondrian particularly indicates the importance of both deductive and inductive approaches in the history of modern art.     

Essentializing ‘Black Pete’: competing narratives surrounding the Sinterklaas tradition in the Netherlands

The Netherlands’ most important tradition, the celebration of the feast of Saint Nicholas, (Sinterklaas) has become subject to nation-wide contestation. As Dutch society has become more multicultural, partly due to the immigration from the former Dutch colonies in the West-Indies, new sensitivities have arisen about this institutionalised heritage practice. At the core of the controversy is the figure of Black Pete (Zwarte Piet), Saint Nicholas’ black-faced companion. Some communities within Dutch society perceive this figure as highly menacing and insulting. To the majority of the population, however, Zwarte Piet is an essential part of its heritage and identity. The ensuing controversy can be understood as a matter of heritage narratives conflicting. These narratives do not just give meaning to the tradition, but are also instrumentalized by actors in the debate to achieve their goals. They are used to justify or reject the appearance of Zwarte Piet, and to critically debate Dutch identity. In this article we reconstruct the Zwarte Piet narratives, and explain why these are so incommensurable. Naturally, we also pay attention to what is at stake for the activists on all sides.