Bas Kosters ‘Don’t Hurt Us’
Are you involved in politics? Is watching the news and reading the papers part of your daily routine? At least you read my column, but my columns are mostly about fashion, and about people and their behaviour.
I must admit that most of my life is filled with my work – creating is a big part of my spending time. Of course, as a columnist, I must be informed about what is going on. All the fashion news reaches me through all the social media, but how about real news? News concerning wars, politics, disasters and so on. I am ashamed to say that I choose not to create enough free time to totally get a grip on everything that is going on, and it feels like when you have missed some episodes, it is difficult to catch up with the story.
One story that still sticks in my mind from the few times I did put on the news recently is the Islamic State’s war on art. Why is it that story keeps floating around in my head? Of course, I am an artist myself, but that is not the reason. I was discussing the content of my column with my brother, who is a poet and a writer. His statement was that the public reaction to this war on art seemed stronger than in case of the killings that are going on at the same time. I agree with him, that is shocking, but I am I not the one choosing to draw a column about the war on art, and not the killings of innocent war victims, apparently I react the same.
Why does it seem that people have more compassion for ancient art than for people’s lives? Are objects more important than life? My realisation was that this art is seemingly partly from us, and considered worthy, whilst another life cannot be owned, and will always end at a certain point. Is that why we’re hurting when something that belongs to ‘us’ is hurt? I must say that I am surprised about the prioritising that seems to automatically go on in my mind, but at least consciousness is a first step.
