An Anthology of Optimism is the brainchild of Belgian writer Pieter De Buyser and Canadian writer and performer Jacob Wren.
With his novel Candide, or Optimism , Voltaire provided the literary entree to the Enlightenment. Voltaire’s target was the optimistic philosophy espoused by the dominant thinkers of the day; by the end of the novel, even Dr Pangloss – the character used by Voltaire to personify the discourse of optimism – has quietly renounced his own philosophical position. Voltaire’s contention was clear: divine intention cannot provide the universal justification for humanity’s most egregious behaviour. Humanity must be called to account for its political, spiritual and social imperfections.
Two hundred and fifty years after the publication of the Candide, and optimism is in short supply in the western world. The free market economy provides seemingly infinite opportunities for individuals and corporations to generate wealth; the global financial crisis has highlighted that, when stripped of all the economic rhetoric, any economic system is only as efficient as the protagonists pulling the levers within the system. The democratic system – the ideological winner in the Cold War – is characterised by short term, media obsessed cynical behaviour by politicians and rampant apathy among voters. Once a benign source upon which the humanity could rely for its basic inputs, the natural environment has been raped and pillaged to the point of decimation.
It’s within this pessimistic duality – the optimism of opportunity versus the pessimism of reality – that An Anthology of Optimism operates. An Anthology of Optimism is the brainchild of Belgian writer Pieter De Buyser and Canadian writer and performer Jacob Wren. An Anthology of Optimism is part lecture, part Socratic dialogue, part interactive audience experience. It explores the concept and nature of critical optimism in the modern environment, played out against the backdrop of contributions provided by artists, politicians, philosophers, business people and academics across the world.
At the heart of An Anthology of Optimism are the contrasting personalities of De Buyser and Wren. De Buyser describes himself as optimistic, but with a critical edge. Wren, on the other hand, is deeply pessimistic, a trait that comes through in his artistic output. “Jacob’s work is on the dark side, and he has a more pessimistic approach,” De Buyser says. “I am different, but we both have common opinions on politics and performance.”
To explore the fundamental differences in their philosophical attitudes, De Buyser and Wren collaborated on a letter that would be sent to leading thinkers, artists and politicians across the world. The letter solicited contributions from recipients on the nature of optimism in the contemporary world. Contributions could be in any form: a photograph, text, an object, a film or music. In the stage show, De Buyser and Wren choose a selection of contributions and use them as the basis for a dialogue on optimism.
For De Buyser, it is the paradox of Western comfort that provides the basis for the contemporary pessimistic attitude. “I think that we in the rich West live in a pessimistic regime,” he says. “The main concern in the political system is preserving wealth. You also see in the dominant culture where politics is being reduced to the art of playing safe. Even though in art you can see people trying different things, there is an urgent need for more imagination in our artistic craft to invent new possibilities,” De Buyser says.
De Buyser says the contributions have been solicited from a diverse group. “We wanted to reach out to people we would not ordinarily have anything to do with, like senior businessmen and politicians,” De Buyser says. The contributions received have been equally diverse: Donald Rumsfield told the duo that the US invaded Iraq out of optimism, a couple of Israeli artists offered a proposal to bring down the wall between Israel and Palestine, while a French baker offered some of his baked wares for the stage performance. One of De Buyser’s favourite contributions came during the audience interaction segment of the show. “Someone asked Jacob how he remained so pessimistic,” De Buyser says. “And someone else in the audience suggested that the first song that he ever heard was the wrong one,” he laughs.
De Buyser and Wren are bringing An Anthology of Optimism to the Melbourne International Arts Festival, complete with contributions from notable Australian thinkers. “Wherever we have done the performance there has been a local flavour, but there is also a universal theme,” De Buyser says. I ask De Buyser whether conducting the performance has changed his own attitudes. “That is a good question,” De Buyser replies. “I think Jacob and I are becoming closer,” he says. “Early on we were quite angry toward each other, but now we understand each other a lot more.”
An Anthology Of Optimism happens at The Arts Centre, Fairfax Studio from Wednesday October 20 until Saturday October 23. Tickets range from $25-$45 and can be booked online at Ticketmaster, The Arts Centre or Melbourne Festival.
