On page one of the despot’s handbook is this instruction: silence the artists. Mute the intellectuals. Authoritarians have power only when people become sheep. Silence in the face of abuse is tacit agreement. Permission to bully.
If I had a nickel for every time I’ve stood before a school board and explained that art is supposed to be powerful, that it plays a very important role in a healthy society, I’d have a lot of nickels. I was generally called to speak when a play or a painting upset the apple cart, when the art made the community confront a truth or look at a reality. Brecht’s Epic Theatre or the plays of Artaud were/are meant to shake the irrational in people, force them into discussion and revelation.
Art can be beautiful, poetry can soothe, but that is only one side of the coin. It can also shine a light and expose an ugly truth. It can give voice to what is not-being-spoken. It can work out problems on the stage instead of sending the violence into the streets. It can ask us to take a hard look at ourselves and our motives. Picasso’s large painting, Guernica, a response to horror wrought by fascists on the people of a town in Spain, is a powerful art-mirror.
The conscience of a community, like the conscience of every individual that comprises the community, lives beyond the superficial, it bubbles in the place beyond words. An artist’s job is to reach into that place, pull the veil for a moment, root or re-root the community in its values.
A despot’s job is to secure a unanimous vote, no questions asked. Sheep.
Art is not superficial. It is not the image or the words on the page. It is what the image, the words, the dance, the music, touch. Hearts. Souls. Conscience.
Without it, what remains is propaganda. Propaganda is never news, it is the opposite of art. It snuffs the question, it prevents the quest for meaning and deep-felt-truth. Without it, communities flatten, lose their center, wither, and fall apart. Silence, eyes downcast or sideways glancing. Permission to bully. Sheep.
It’s time for the artists to get to work.
read Kerri’s blog post about ARTISTS
Filed under: Art, Creativity, Edges, Two Artists Tuesday | Tagged: antonin artaud, art, artist, artistry, artists, authoritarian, Brecht, bully, community, conscience, dance, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, despots, dialectic, Epic Theatre, Guernica, heart, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, Picasso, poetry, propaganda, prose, soul, truth |
The Direction of Intention 
Hi David, not sure if you remember me. We met in the NL with Alan Seale. This post really resonates with me. Our son is a playwright, now living in Ireland. I forwarded this to him. I’d love to catch up sometime. I’m still in Montana, not really part of the TP community, just on the edges..I hope you and Kerry are doing well. Rebecca Johns Sent via the Samsung Galaxy, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone
Hi Rebecca, Of course I remember you and can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to wander over to Montana and sit with you for a while. I’d welcome a catch-up. Thank you for passing the post on to your son – we are both feeling the necessity to speak into the turmoil. Be well – stay well.