AGGRESSION

“We live in dark times. Under Trump, democracy in the United States is in danger of descending into totalitarianism. Freedom, justice, reason, truth, and responsibility now appear to be mere empty words. The rules-based international order and international law are being systematically undermined and replaced by the law of the jungle. Aggression, violence, anger, incitement, lies, and blackmail are spreading with little regard for the humanitarian consequences.

From many totalitarian regimes, be they in Africa, the Islamic world, or communist countries in the former Eastern Bloc, we know that power permits all forms of violence, corruption, and personal enrichment. The invasion of Ukraine under Putin (the latest in a line of Russian strongmen that includes Lenin and Stalin) has shattered eighty years of peace in Europe, with disastrous results. In response to the brutal mass murder of Israelis by Hamas terrorists, Netanyahu, who has been charged with corruption, is waging a devastating war against Palestine, causing unimaginable suffering for the civilian popu­lation. The International Criminal Court in the Hague has issued arrest warrants against him—as well as against Putin—on charges of genocide.
In Europe, far-right populists, nationalists, and radical leftists are increasingly challenging the democratic consensus and gaining influence. Radical parties spread anger, hatred, lies, and AI-generated misinformation on social media. There are hardly any meaningful checks and balances against spreading fake news and false information online. Besides poisoning the political arena, this also affects people in their teens, who increasingly face serious psychological harm from cyberbullying, an insidious new form of violence. The anonymity of those who spread such messages is protected as a questionable guarantee of freedom of expression. An example that it can be done differently is provided by the traditional format of the “letters to the editor,” which reputable newspapers publish only under verified names. On German television, the depiction of murder and violence has become part of everyday programming. Crime dramas and their endless reruns increasingly dominate evening schedules. Video games likewise feature many titles characterized by extreme violence. In this way, natural inhibitions among young people are gradually eroded away, all in the name of a “game.”
Acts of violence make headlines every day. The latest crime statistics from Bavaria—Germany’s safest federal state—point to a growing ten­dency toward violence and greater brutality in public life. The number of juvenile violent offenders, for example, has increased by more than fifty percent since 2019.

Individual freedoms can be guaranteed only within a functioning democracy. This is particularly true in the arts. Totalitarian regimes demonstrate how quickly artistic freedom can be curtailed or dismantled through ideological conformity: through control of the media, the abolition of the separation of powers, military or economic pressure, and the purging of libraries, museums, and universities. The United States is currently on a dangerous path toward conditions resembling those of the other two hegemonic powers, potentially plunging other democracies into an existential crisis. It is therefore high time to replace the vague hope that things will somehow turn out for the best with active individual engagement in the spirit of the vita activa, as described by Hannah Arendt in The Human Condition, and in the spirit of Karl Popper and Joseph Beuys in the arts. In this way, art can create images that remain in our minds despite the constant flow of images we are exposed to. Even if they do not bring about direct political or social change, such artworks remain necessary disruptions to an imposed worldview.

A pioneer in this sense was Francisco de Goya, whose body of prints focused largely on harrowing depictions of brutal violence in everyday life and in war. Above all, the etchings of Los Desastres de la Guerra (The Disasters of War) endure as images that keep the memory of these horrors alive.
Perhaps the most striking example in this context is Pablo Picasso’s Guernica, widely recognized as the ultimate visual statement against violence and war. A symbolic action by Joseph Beuys also attracted wide attention when he melted down a golden replica of a tsar’s crown and transformed the gold into a “peace hare.” In 1972, Beuys issued his call to action La rivoluzione siamo noi (We Are the Revolution), appealing to each individual to open themselves and those around them to creative solutions, tolerance, and diversity, and to set an example through active engagement.
Liberal democracy is not something that can be taken for granted; it is a vulnerable form of government. Preserving it is a shared responsibility. Culture and the arts can and must play their part. Therefore this exhibition!”

Bernd Klüser
Munich, March 2026

With works by: