The essay written by famed painter and sculptor Jean Dubuffet, “Anticultural Position,” was recently introduced to me. Now before I rant in the direction one can deduce from the title of this blog essay, I would like to let it be known I do respect his position and his abilities as a writer as well as an artist. But the content of which this essay is comprised fundamentally goes against my views on life. Much of Dubuffet’s rhetoric deals with how man’s most primal and instinctual persona producing what he calls “savagery,” must be used in order to truly accomplish meaningful art. In my mind he is critiquing the occidental culture or western culture for being essentially too thoughtful.

At one point, precisely his third of six enumerated points he endeavors to convey his opposition with western culture, he discusses the thought process in which he believes erroneous for true art. Dubuffet believes that the underlying mistake of western culture concerns the formation of ideas. More specifically, he states that the “landing” of an idea for any purpose where it completes its development does not offer enough of a profound perspective as the “root” of a mental process before it has come to full fruition. For instance, the way I would describe what he trying to say is that instead of finalizing a thought before its consequential action, one should “catch” the thought before it has become a solidified idea. Another point in which he makes he chastises western culture for analyzing. He believes analyzing things, categorizing, breaking down entities in their substrata is not the way to go about art. Dubuffet’s core concepts contradict my entire resolve.

I am a biology major, a man of science, and like all other extant human beings, a product of human advancement throughout evolution. I am a passionate and avid proponent of the father of science, Aristotle. Aristotle taught the world that rational thought channeled into the tangible universe around us will allow human beings to achieve true wisdom. I take this Aristotelian philosophy to heart and Dubuffet is essentially crapping on it with his essay. It is the very essence of the human mind to think analytically, the observe the world around us, to solve problems. The fact that Dubuffet seems to think primitive man’s absence of our current societal position is something to be valued; this notion offends me.

Well, I have news for Mr. Dubuffet, only the smart survive and pass on their intellectual genes to next generation. Abstract and analytical thought brought us out of the caves and placed at the apex of intelligent life forms making us the dominant animal on the planet. We control our world today not as a result of physical adaptations, we rather pale in comparison in physical prowess to our mammalian kin; it is our minds that have guided us to this point in time. If we had stayed with this “savage” mindset that Dubuffet seems to idolize as superior, the very concept of art would not even exist because that is an intangible fiction created by advanced brains, the very brains that make us homo sapien sapiens.

While reading this phenomenal piece of literature by Anya Von Bremzen, I must say I was a little skeptical at first concerning the light in which the Soviet Union would be spun. As a collegiately schooled American at one of the premier military institutions in the country, I naturally have a slightly skewed perspective. I wished not to delve into a piece of literature extolling the Soviet Union and the leadership of people like Lenin of Stalin. Even though I was not raised during the time of the nuclear arms race, cuban missile crisis, and cold war, my educators have made it very clear, as well as contemporary propaganda, that the USSR was hardly the mark of a utopian society. Nevertheless, my knowledge of what life truly was like inside the Soviet union during this time was extremely limited. Von Bremzen, to my delight, did not tell it as a soviet sympathizer. In fact she regaled her experiences and history of this country with apparent contempt. This immediately signified to me that I can wholeheartedly immerse my attention in her words.

On a side note, her intertwining the discussion of food as a sort of perpetual lens in which to tell her story was very intriguing and makes the reading that much more enjoyable. But, the topic which I would like to discuss is the living standards of your average civilian during this period. I know that this geographical region is both harsh and arid one, but it amazed me just how destitute the majority of the country was, and how people dealt with such atrocities. The deprivation of such basic human necessities such as food, sanitation, or even living quarters deeply disturbed me. Anya remarks throughout her telling of how the people of the soviet union would have to wait in line for hours each day for the most basic ingredients and food such as bread. She describes in vivid detail how the bread would almost certainly be damp and marred, oozing a greenish solution from the peas used the stretch the flour to protract the insufficient quantity possessed. However, a slight admiration for the people of that country, not for the government or dignitaries obviously, had developed. Von Bremzen’s recount of how the population handled such hardship difficulty stood in my mind as nothing short of impressive. No matter what daunting situation arose for Anya and her mother as well as the general public, happiness, hope, and resolve always remained to some degree.

I think there is no greater symbol in this book to represent this than the mayonnaise jar. In her chapter labeled “1970’s: Mayonnaise of my homeland,” she describes how everyone utilized the remaining container of mayonnaise in an abundance of different functions. Obviously with so little resources possessed by the majority, the one food stuffs that most everyone received with consistency was mayonnaise, usually kept in a large container. When the contents were depleted, the people did not simply throw it away but saved for usage in whatever situation they could thing of. At one point in this chapter Anya described how pervasive this action was as she denoted a random gynecologists’ sign reading that all pregnancy tests be brought in a mayo jar. These people were truly able to live up to the old adage “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” So, it thanks to Anya Von Bremzen that the people oppressed by such horrid living conditions have earned my respect due to their comprehensive will to survive and thrive in a terrible time.

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