Journal Article

Penetrating global consciousness: Art, killing as art, art as subversion, peace and the inversion of speed and power

Liebenberg, Ian

2015

Overview

War chariots and armoured beasts of war played a major role in wars and influenced the outcomes of battles. The industrial era and age of total war saw new transmutations of this tool of war. When the first tanks rolled out at the battle of the Somme in September 1916, and a year later, an entire tank corps at Cambrai, a mobile tool of war was born that would weave itself deeply into battle space and global social consciousness, in fact humanity itself. Usually, the tank is viewed as the concrete manifestation of speed, mobility, all-round protection and firepower on the modern battlefield. It received attention in terms of design, armament and upgrades, as well as strategy and tactics. The tank redesigned battle space and impacted on national psyches and collective memory. Earmarked for killing, this object penetrated social consciousness, art, political discourse and issues of morality and peacemaking. This article reflects on the broader socio-economic, political and sociological outcomes of this invention. At a time of high technocracy, hyperglobalisation and transhumanity amidst increased global fragmentation, alienation, oppression and poverty, this tool still plays a problematic role. The tank constitutes a central component of the global industrial-military complex as much as it forms part of the (dis-)fragmentation of current society and political discourse, it invokes critical reflection.

• Publisher: Cogent,Taylor & Francis Ltd,Taylor & Francis Group
• Subject: anti-war / art against war / Consciousness / First World War / pacifism / social criticism / tank warfare / tanks