What’s the role of an artist in the world? Is it to entertain, or to just decorate people’s spaces? Be a change maker or just a conversation piece? A businessman or a Con Artist? A joker or a philosopher?
I think it takes all kinds to make up the world and the same is true for artists as well. I have come across, hundreds of artists in my career and have had the opportunity to know them up close. And they usually have their own story and set of aspirations to pursue what they do. In my case, the art career became the means to learn a lot about my mind, spirit, and the world they inhabit in.
Observing, learning, unlearning, questioning, doing, and undoing are all a few of the thousand components of this journey, It is not easy but then nothing is. Yes, it draws more out of your life force than other vocations.
Many want to make some difference and contribute to the evolution of humanity on this little planet. But, that’s what most professionals would say if questioned. So no extra points on that subject. Self-expression can get a very high score because irrespective fo the art one does. it involves the persona and interpretation of the world around.
I researched a bit about what other artists had to say about their function in the world and came across quite a few interesting views, To enumerate a few >
“Artists are a vehicle for expressing universal emotion.“Lesley Birch, York, UK
“Artists are responsible for unearthing the truth.“Nina Fraser, Portugal
“Artists work to illuminate the margins and make societal changes.“Ginny Sykes, Chicago, USA
“They tell stories and pass on traditions” Maarten Westmaas, the Netherlands
“Artists connect with and inspire people globally” Shih Yun Yeo, Singapore
“Artists record and preserve our human history” Bruno Castro Santos, Lisbon, Portugal
“Artists offer messages of hope” Aleta Michaletos, South Africa
“They are ambassadors of the natural world.” Poppy Balser, Canada
All of these statements, obviously are the personally felt reasons of the why of what we do and hence perfect answers. They establish one fact “Artists create variety, to the otherwise mundane and repeated sameness of the world. Perhaps that’s why one of the attributes of the supreme creator is that of an artist- who doesn’t stop at a few hundred types of creatures. He creates millions of species – 8.7 million at the last count. This is just about the small planet earth. Trillions of galaxies and planets till infinity. And we can even imagine what is within or beyond them.
Most artists provide a sense of artistic pride for the culture they belong to. Art is not only the face and costume of a culture, but an important component of its body and the soul
