competition exhibition

The expansion of the global capitalist system creates a network of transnational connections, shaping a binary division of the world into a center and its subordinated peripheries. Regions where civilizational and economic development lags behind the pace of the center remain under the influence of outdated (archaic) forms of socio-economic organization. The slower pace of development in the peripheries is often explained by insufficient integration with more economically advanced areas. However, this overlooks the fact that it is the global economic system itself, based on capital accumulation, that contributes to the emergence of this division and the formation of underdeveloped regions, which are a “consequence of the polarizing logic of this system’s expansion.”

Each new state incorporated into this unified system—typically through conquest—is pushed into a peripheral position. The resulting integrated economic structure leads to the emergence of a hierarchy based on various specializations and levels of professionalization. In newly incorporated and less developed regions, production processes tend to dominate that require high labor and time input but do not guarantee high profit margins. Additionally, the economies of peripheral areas are typically based on agriculture and resource extraction, involving the intensive exploitation of natural resources and labor. As a result, in the global economic system, poorer regions become dependent on more economically developed areas. The profitability of production in the peripheries stems from low costs, which are made possible by cheap or even enslaved labor. Due to the low wealth levels of peripheral societies, the export of cheap products from these poorer regions becomes a key factor influencing the operation of economic systems and deepening the phenomenon of polarization between the center and the periphery. This leads to regional differences in profit levels, giving developed countries an advantage over less affluent areas. According to Immanuel Wallerstein, social polarization is a key element in the creation of interlinked systems within an economy based on capital accumulation. This results not only from delays in meeting the standards imposed by the center but also from the very structure of the system, which relies on these inequalities. Therefore, bridging the gap and catching up with wealthier regions becomes impossible.

The economic system, supported by the socio-political structure, also leads to the export of Western/central models and patterns of behavior to peripheral regions. This process is closely connected with cultural expansion, exemplified by the phenomenon of Eurocentrism. The aspiration to meet the standards and organizational models set by the center causes the peripheries—especially the so-called semi-peripheries—to obsessively compare themselves to core regions and intensely adapt cultural patterns from developed countries. The process of importing social models and organizational structures in an attempt to build one’s own identity is referred to as cultural self-colonization. It is defined by “the trauma of inferiority resulting from the awareness of alienation from what is Universal.” As a result, cultural phenomena in semi-peripheral areas are often described in reference to paradigms and trends established by central hubs.

In the context of the above considerations, it is worth noting Piotr Piotrowski’s concept of horizontal art history. It can be interpreted as an attempt to neutralize the vertical approach in which art movements are imposed by the dominant Western culture. In the traditional vertical model of cultural development, artistic phenomena spread from the center to the periphery. The export of artistic phenomena—particularly the ways in which they are interpreted—has a significant impact on how they are received in regions outside the central core. The concept of horizontal art history reveals a process stemming from the complexity of visual culture, which makes it difficult to clearly determine which artistic movements dominated a given period. This allows one to avoid simplifications and the superficial popularization of trends that were developing in a particular historical moment.

The import and export of art-related cultural phenomena in the horizontal model support the process of socialization while preserving diversity, which enables a fuller reflection of the complexity of the human environment. Such a model of exchange does not limit itself to the mere “product,” as is characteristic of consumer culture, but focuses on active participation in the creative process and on the pursuit and promotion of utopian visions.

Maciej Kurak

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