I think BiBi wants to remove the court system that gets in the way of his control over the country with the Knesset. However, there seems to be a difference of opinion. Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. I weep for the people of Israel and Palestine. Reminds me of Apartheid S. Africa.
I doubt that art can drive change. On the other hand, it certainly reflects change, which is no small thing. The music of the Baroque, for instance, faithfully reflected the ideals of the Enlightenment. Socialist realism in the late, unlamented USSR depicted the Revolution in its ideal, heroic form, while dissident writers like Solzhenitsyn depicted its grim realities.
It's plausible to think that change drives and directs creativity. The creation of a drawing, a short story, a song, is a reaction to the artist's lived experience. In a period of change and tumult, such reactions can be dramatic, even unnerving, albeit not necessarily in a form that welcomes change. George Orwell once remarked that almost all the notable writers of his time were conservative or even reactionary.
Well, I really don't think that exploiting doubt is necessarily a characteristic of good art. It might be in this or that specific case, but "The Goldberg Variations," the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and Dostoevsky's prophetic novel, "The Devils," all do something quite different.
The contemporary definition of great art is "that which makes people uncomfortable and shakes up the status quo." It's a definition rooted in the ideology of revolution, and for that reason it won't work. By burdening the artist with a social and political task, it circumscribes rather than enlarges the artistic imagination.
This has never been more true: "Art has a way of helping people see and understand what’s going on, even if we may have differing ideas of what peace can mean."
I've been thinking a lot about art and activism, recently. I think there is a natural connection between heightened observation and the desire to make change -- it's been my experience that activist groups tend to have a disproportionate representation of people who create art in one form or another. Have you seen the Designing Peace exhibition currently at the Cooper Hewitt? if not it's up until Aug 6. Really interesting ideas and efforts that were new to me, that I want to write/draw about.
That's a very interesting thought. And no, I haven't seen that show, wish I could! I am away and can't make it. It is a very interesting interplay between art and change--I think the two have similar derivations.
You articulate this beautifully. Can’t say how much effect artists have on sparking revolution - or if art in its best interpretation - IS revolution.
Thank you. I love that. Art is revolution. It is, can be. And it creates changes subversively.....
I love the drawing with the peace symbols.
Thank you, Nancy.
I think BiBi wants to remove the court system that gets in the way of his control over the country with the Knesset. However, there seems to be a difference of opinion. Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. I weep for the people of Israel and Palestine. Reminds me of Apartheid S. Africa.
yes. Very sad.
I doubt that art can drive change. On the other hand, it certainly reflects change, which is no small thing. The music of the Baroque, for instance, faithfully reflected the ideals of the Enlightenment. Socialist realism in the late, unlamented USSR depicted the Revolution in its ideal, heroic form, while dissident writers like Solzhenitsyn depicted its grim realities.
It's plausible to think that change drives and directs creativity. The creation of a drawing, a short story, a song, is a reaction to the artist's lived experience. In a period of change and tumult, such reactions can be dramatic, even unnerving, albeit not necessarily in a form that welcomes change. George Orwell once remarked that almost all the notable writers of his time were conservative or even reactionary.
Well, anyhow, it's something to think about.
I think it can Thomas, because good art exists in the cracks and exploits the doubt, helping others to question the status quo.
Well, I really don't think that exploiting doubt is necessarily a characteristic of good art. It might be in this or that specific case, but "The Goldberg Variations," the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and Dostoevsky's prophetic novel, "The Devils," all do something quite different.
The contemporary definition of great art is "that which makes people uncomfortable and shakes up the status quo." It's a definition rooted in the ideology of revolution, and for that reason it won't work. By burdening the artist with a social and political task, it circumscribes rather than enlarges the artistic imagination.
Fair enough!
This has never been more true: "Art has a way of helping people see and understand what’s going on, even if we may have differing ideas of what peace can mean."
I've been thinking a lot about art and activism, recently. I think there is a natural connection between heightened observation and the desire to make change -- it's been my experience that activist groups tend to have a disproportionate representation of people who create art in one form or another. Have you seen the Designing Peace exhibition currently at the Cooper Hewitt? if not it's up until Aug 6. Really interesting ideas and efforts that were new to me, that I want to write/draw about.
That's a very interesting thought. And no, I haven't seen that show, wish I could! I am away and can't make it. It is a very interesting interplay between art and change--I think the two have similar derivations.
I believe it. In every form.