The Artist and Responsibility

There seems to be a stream of rationale through the artist community that art is for art sake, that destruction is as creative as creation, and that we may express anything as long as it can be draped in the creative. Too often, this feels like we, the artist, abdicating responsibility. Art should not be self-centered. The point is for the piece to be viewed and experienced by others. Could one say that self-centered art is not art because, by its nature, art is other-centered?

No one walks through this life without responsibility. No one walks truly alone. We are not islands to ourselves but a community or at the very least a community of communities. There are more then 6 Billion of us on this blue marble hurtling through space. There are those who have no one to speak for them; women and children trafficked as slaves for drudgery and sexual exploitation; victims of genocide like the Karen people in Burma; the disenfranchised trapped on the streets of any major city in North America. The artist is responsible for these people.

The artist should be an advocate. The artist has authority in society. We can stand up and speak out so much. We can build up people and societies. We can create beauty where there is only ugliness and darkness. We have authority. The artist has responsibility equal to that authority. We have a responsibility to create with purpose. We can give a voice to the voiceless. We can yell and scream louder then most to draw attention to those who can only whimper.

Art should always have purpose and the artist have responsibility

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