Though the art forms that Kayla Briët (2017) cites in her speech cannot be directly connected to the fine arts, the interconnectedness she references between folk songs and ancient instruments exists between different forms of expression too. Briët discusses how the guzheng zither and Native American folk songs share the universal, pentatonic scale, and by default, share a common feature despite being founded hundreds of years apart in totally different countries and cultures. Briët utilizes the art forms of film, music, and traditional crafting in her self-expression. Though the mediums may differ, the fine arts practice the same model and use it to determine either personal, cultural, social, or other perspectives. Briët proposes that the loss of culture can be devastating, which is the thesis of her documentary and opened her to interactions between a number of minorities around the world. This expresses the necessity of preserving culture, as the loss of identity, language, and traditions are not limited to some parts of the world but occur among smaller groups worldwide. Not only would such a loss lead to gaps in cultural history, but it also diminishes the potential of interaction with unlimited formats, topics, and sources of art and human identity.
The original reasons for certain traditions may be lost or evolved, they are still a reflection of a culture’s values. Briët herself explains the purpose of certain aspects of her culture, such as the Taos Pueblo Hoop Dance. The dance attempts to recreate formations that can be seen in the natural world, thereby celebrating its variety of beauty. The continuous spinning of the dance reflects the movement of the sun and the passing of time. A myriad of traditions exists as a form of celebration, whether it addresses the world, a deity, human events, or something else entirely. Additionally, traditions exist for other vital aspects of life cycles such as birth, marriages, coming of age, and death. All traditions reflect aspects and features that a society or culture finds valuable. Even more modern works or practices are deeply ingrained in both ingrained and newly acquired values. While some aspects of or reasoning behind ancient traditions may be lost to the current world, just as Briët mentions herself, they also exist as time capsules. They illustrate the values of ancestors and entire cultures that have ceased to exist or transformed into completely new groups.
Archiving and preservation of any and all artworks and traditions are possible and should occur in the modern day. The digital age allows for any form of medium to be saved and observed at a later date. A camera can be utilized to record dances and rituals, audio recordings for songs and speech, and even more fragile artifacts can be immortalized in some way by 3D scanners. The real question is whether certain groups or individuals are required to continue to practice the traditions, rituals, and values of their culture. This is often regarded as the sole way of preserving cultures, with languages with no speakers being considered dead and ethnic groups with no more members being thought of as extinct. However, there is a chance that it is no longer possible to have an entirely dead language or extinct culture, as modern technology allows us to preserve many features of culture until future generations may return to it. Though a loss of native speakers and members of culture is devastating for any identity, the choice of whether they want to continue participating in traditions is left to the individual. Essentially, I believe that as many as possible traditions and artworks should be preserved from my heritage, but the practice of these things can be decided by members of my cultural group individually.
Reference
Briët, Kayla. (2017). Why do I make art? To build time capsules for my heritage [Video]. TED. Web.