NEWS 2024 | Androgyne & Chimpanzee, Binghamton University, Crossing the Boundaries

Androgyne & Chimpanzee

It is very common that an artist transfers messages via a selected medium. As a quite silent activist, I do the same, trying to increase human-beings’ life quality across visualization of concepts. In this way I would like to put my nano-footprint on the Blue Planet before going to die. Here is one of my paintings and the following essay as the narration:

Title: Androgyne & Chimpanzee, Oil on Canvas, 22”x28”, 2019-2021

A Tribute to Mary Ellen Mark & Francis Ford Coppola

Thanks to Rosalinda Celentano & Marlon Brando

The painting belongs to a series that is called “Antique Future”( Link ). This name comes from an Italian Music Album; “Futuro Antico” was composed and sang by Angelo Branduardi. This painting series aim at people, encouraging them to look at the history as the great instructor and increasing their individual life quality. That Ideally will lead us to get social improvements.

Our planet age is around 4.5 billion years and Homo Sapiens has 300-thousand-year-old. For almost all that time, our population had been under 1 billion and now it is jumped on 8.2 billion. In almost 220 years after Industrial Revolution, This Overpopulation have been ruining a remarkable part of our billion-years natural patrimony. Why? Simply because we have been capable.

Now the anthropological question is: Have science (and consequently its advanced technology) been leading human being to reach a higher life quality globally?

After Industrial Revolution, modern human being dramatically has kept going forward on his own way, reaching out what is so called “achievements” without paying attention to our planet as a living organism. This pioneer species hopes that could be capable to find happiness in the World of Things with the straight forward attitude of acquiring money, materials, products, services, and higher social positions. In this race, the fact that as an animal, we are a part of nature - not superior - has been forgotten. Dances with Wolves (1990) and Avatar (2009) are two movies that present the attitude well.

We have lost living in harmony with Mother Nature and instead, trying to dominate it. This misleading approach as a matter of fact, has affected remarkably the Earth since nature has revolted against us with hurricane, global warming and peril viruses and bacteria. Apparently when we do not allow Mother Nature to stay balanced by herself, she riots against us, getting back to steadiness.

With “Antique Future” paintings, I try to emphasize on a prompt necessity of rethinking about our rapport with environment. Through my artwork, a modern man/woman typically with an old fashion clothing style stares at contemporary viewers strongly and demandingly.

Above painting represents nature as a unity: human, animal, plants, earth, and sky. The protagonist is an Androgyne who lives in harmony with nature. Right part of the face is Marlon Brando while the left part illustrates Rosalinda Celentano’s portrait (a female lesbian Italian actress). The Chimpanzee (our closest mammal species­, the connecting bridge between us and other animals) accompanies Androgyne. At the same eye level, both are looking seriously at us and at our artificial world, - the Simulacrum as per Jean Baudrillard expression - trying to ask 21st century humans: “What you guys are doing with the Globe?”

The idea comes from “Androgyne Myth” of Plato & Aristophanes in which angry Zeus, instead of killing rebel ancient strong immortal human being, by Apollo’s consultation decided to divide the corpus in two parts. That ancient human had been figured by two heads, four hands and four legs. Thus we - as the new form of humans - have become feeble and mortal. The new form of human being had found that will pass away and started to make legacy of his/her existence; a remembrance after dying.

Therefore, straight males (divided from two males) and females (divided from two females) started to find out each other reproducing. In the same way, an Androgyne (divided from one male and one female) started to find another Androgyne with the same gender but in case of not being capable to reproduce, they started to create Art, Architecture and Literature.

My direct conceptual message through this artwork is a fundamental necessity for human being to follow androgynous lifestyle, even straight men and women have to think about this alternative. Instead of reproduction, we can try to find meaning of life through ideas, our inside world. That should be the unique radical method to saves the Planet and increasing the life quality. Androgyne thinking style is essential to avoid ruining the Earth, we need to learn searching out happiness in “the World of Ideas”, it is an idea that Plato recounts via “Allegory of the Cave”.

In “Allegory of the Cave”, he simplifies that how our conceptions about the reality changes dramatically when we move gradually from the “World of Thing” towards the “World of Ideas”. How far is the conception of life for whom living in chains at the end of the cave from the reality which is outside the cave. The Matrix (1999) and Inception (2010) are two scripts based on this Allegory.

As an intuition, I am connecting “Allegory of the Cave” with “Androgyne Myth”. Most of us have a checklist to get gratified: a better job with more money, a bigger house, a modern car, desirable vacations, and of course reproduction to find out meaning of life. That thought partially may come from Jungian Archetypes. In my perspective, instead of getting immersed with the World of Things, we need to pick up the solitary unusual alternative.

Obviously, Earth does not capable to keep eight billion inhabitants; facts like shortage of natural resources, air pollution, changing rain patterns and recent pandemic clearly shows it. Population should be reduced with a serious prompt international strategy and Governments, NGOs or UN would not be commander of this uprising. Comparing the 20th Century, in lack of Charismatic Leaders and Radical Legends, it should be a revolt of individuals. It must be done before Nature by itself would start to balance human population. As an example, in subsequent of a natural disaster, humans in specific geographical zone will start to fight and kill each other for the essential needs.

We have been hearing a lot about crucial requirement for fighting against inequality, injustice, poverty, fundamentalism, unemployment, mass illegal immigration, social conflicts, lack of effective education, …  but I think we have missed the big image that over-population and consequently shortage of resources have been caused many of those issues. Even in a fish tank there is a standard that defines quantity, kinds, and size of fish to live together in a good physical and mental condition. This basic is a very simple – but not easy - concept that human being has forgotten for decades. Talking about the underwater world, I would like to mention that when I was 10-year-old, I read an article about whales who do not reproduce when they feel the environmental condition is not satisfactory, and it might be the base of this essay.

Getting back to social conflicts, in the worst-case scenario, unbalances colonies will cause entering to Post-Apocalyptic World. Karl Marx called History as a struggle between different social classes. The huge economic gap provides hopeless people who have nothing to lose who potentially become dangerous and are capable to gather in groups. It provided an occasion for Fanatic Leaders and Ultra-Right/Left-Wing Politicians who can surf on those high-energetic waves towards a Post-Apocalyptic Future.

On January 30th 2024 Prof. Vittorino Andreoli (an Italian Psychologist) got interviewed on TV about the unusual violences that repeatedly happen in Italian society and in families. He mentioned to Homicide as a type of Suicide for whom lost his/her identity; talked about the World that is changing too fast and people who look at outside much more than inside; and the World in which Money became the symbol. He said those people who see nothing in the Future [at work/school/family/society] get Frustrated, and it brings angriness. In this situation brain does not elaborate anymore. It provides an absolute Empiricism without any idea (forget about ideology that had lost before). As the conclusion he said that we need to understand what is Humanity (TG5 8:00pm Italian news, Canale 5, Mediaset).

According Stoicism (a Greece-Rome school of philosophy in the 3rd century, BC.), life has two bases: Harmony and Balance. In my view, after Renaissance, interacting with our plant, human being did not pay enough attention to those Fundamentals. To raise up the quality of life, we have to look closely to the nature of human and the nature of universe, have to learn more about art of living together while achieving advance technology. “Art of living together” is another concept that Plato unfolded. We need to look at the history carefully, reading again ancient philosophical basics and revising the horrible destiny that have designed for ourselves and again, a radical plan to reduce the globe population will be essential. I name this revolt as “Antique Future” and the leading actor is Post-modern Androgyne who is looking at us in the painting.

Next generations have to select Mythologic Greek Androgynous Life Style who simply lives in harmony with nature, who searches beauty, happiness and meaning of life through innovation and creation - across Art, Literature, Philosophy and Science - who looks at life as a whole system, who is not a local thinker and narrow minded. This new Mammal will be capable to pay attention to sustainable development while is in progress towards advance technology.

Through nature, the nature of the universe and the nature of man, we shall seek truth.

(Moshe Safdie)

This Article is connected with Carl Jung‘s opinion about Anima and Animus in which a man (in his middle age of life) has to show natural feminine attributes (anima) like tenderness and sensitivity and vice versa, a woman has to have animus to get balanced; characteristics like rational soul and courage. My idea is also close to Arthur Schopenhauer’s unmaterialistic opinion about searching happiness and getting free of pains.

At the end I would like to mention a part of The Matrix (1999) movie script where Agent Smith has a monologue with handcuffed Morpheus, concludes his thought about human beings’ life-style:

INT. EXECUTIVE OFFICE - DAY

[…]

AGENT SMITH

I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here.

It came to me when I tried to classify your species.

I've realized that you are not actually mammals.

[…]

Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment.

But you humans do not.

[…]

You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area.

[…]

There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern.

Do you know what it is?

A virus.

[…]

Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet.

You are a plague. And we are... the cure.

(by Larry and Andy Wachowski, March 29, 1998)

Think like an Androgyne, live better, and make life better for others!