By Milena Rampoldi, ProMosaik. Here in the following my interview with the linguist and expert of cultural studies Prof. Harald Haarmann. He just published his new book entitled Figurines as Cultural Identifiers in Space and Time On the Nature of Human Interactions with Images. What is interesting and challenging for us today is the intercultural importance of these figurines in showing how ancient figurines can promote peace and understanding in our world full of conflicts, militarism, and wars.
Milena Rampoldi, ProMosaik: What is the intercultural potential of the figurines of Ancient Europe today?
The intercultural potential of the figurines from ancient Europe (going far back in time to the Palaeolithic Age) has manifested itself in the timeless appeal of its aesthetic values. These values were so fundamental that they motivated a renewal of ancient artistic standards crystallising in the birth of modern art. This powerful trend was initiated by Constantin Brancusi at the beginning of the 20th century.
Why is the feminine element so important and how can this feminine element be the expression of an authentic anti-war culture?
The figurines from ancient times attract the attention of viewers by their peaceful outer expression and this may well produce an imprint on a viewer’s perception. These figurines do not arouse attention like statues of war heroes with bellicose attitudes from Greek antiquity that may stir up unrest in the viewer’s mind. Many of the ancient figurines were found at holy places, places of worship and contemplation where people communicated with divine beings of higher dimensions.
For me personally, cultural identity is the basis of intercultural competence. What do you think about it?
The timeless aesthetics that paved the way for the emergence of modern art is not limited to a particular culture. Nor is the function of a figurine as a medium for contemplation and a symbol of peaceful togetherness. Such functions have symbolic value for promoting a mindset that favours a conflict-free way of life and interaction.
Every culture has its own symbol system, and I think this is the great thing that makes variety and multiculturality possible. How far is the path to multiculturality?
The aesthetic impression of a figurine and its peaceful message are neither bound to a particular cultural milieu nor to a particular language. The message of figurines in their refined, impressive functions is basically intercultural.
Language is the means of construction of the world. How can we promote multilingualism to promote a culture of peace?
A direct way leading from one individual language to the demanding task of promoting peaceful interaction in a multicultural surrounding may be hopeless. It is also not sufficient to translate key concepts and attitudes from one language to another. But the goal may well be achieved if we include figurines and their impressive visual potential in the multicultural interaction. This may well stimulate interactive participation from members of different communities, creating a multicultural forum for interaction and opening the path to a multicultural consensus on the high value of peaceful relations.
What can we learn today from the Ancient European culture of equality and interaction with art?
The figurines attract attention in their unequivocal appeal to peaceful contemplation. To understand the cultural implications behind the visual outfit, the viewer must broaden their perspective, opening up a view of the cultural forces that shaped the figurines as artefacts. The more one dives into the cultural conditions of community life in ancient (pre-Greek) times, the more one becomes aware of the non-violent cooperative sense of culture-construction in which representatives of both sexes participated on equal terms. The general impression of the egalitarian society of those times, which produced so many technical inventions and vital achievements for social life, opens our understanding of the essence of the ancient society whose skillful artists created a powerful distillation of their mental characteristics in their artwork, the figurines.
