The Role of Artist in Society - Essay Example

The Artist’s role in Society Critics have always debated on the role of the artist in society, a dis that has beentriggered by the question of whether the artist creates for himself or has any responsibility to the community in which they live in. This age-long discussion has led to the emergence of two main schools of thought with one arguing that the art should exclusively be for its own sake with an end in itself, to be appreciated for its beauty and nothing more beyond that. The proponents of this school of thought content that art should be for art’s sake and not try to achieve anything other than that which it was created for, thus, the artist creates for himself/herself and is not accountable to his community. Conversely, the second school of thought holds that art should be didactic, or should be used as a vehicle to address or to respond to issues such as social ills in society, by offering solutions to humankind; in that case, the artist does not create for himself/herself but for the community. Art in this case is a mirror that reflects what goes on in society, and it also be a vehicle of change in society (Navarro); by creating art about the human condition, artist are able to invoke people to think critically about themselves and their surroundings (Herberholz). Indeed, as a member of the community, the artist cannot afford to be blind to the human situation that surrounds him/her because it is part of his/her social responsibility to contribute positively to making the community a better place. In that regard, the artist is responsible to the community in which he/she lives in and does not merely write for himself/herself; the work of an artist is a means to an end and not an end in itself, thus, it is a vehicle for social change (“What is the relationship between art and society?”). Artists are the conscience of society because they inform the rest of the community members of the reality that exists in their surroundings, which most of the time may be displeasing to hear; the artist’s role thus becomes unearthing the truth beneath the elaborate facade that members of the society put on in pretense. For instance, when social ills are taking place in the society, the artist should explore their platform to inform the rest of the community of such happenings to curb the vices before harm has been meted out. Apart from merely informing, the artist can also explore their platform to both teach and educate the rest of the community on several issues that concern them about life in general and particularly about how to deal with specific problems. Educative art is a great way of improving society because it enlightens people by imparting in them precious knowledge that probably can never be found in textbooks or in classrooms anywhere. In this regard, the artist is a teacher, who takes up the responsibility of enlightening his/her community through his/her creativity, thus, playing a very significant educative role, rather than creating art for himself/herself. For instance, the artist can choose to educate the rest of the community about the importance of conserving the environment by creating art that depicts the natural surroundings in the community. Education that is packaged in works of art is more powerful and has much more profound impacts than pure education that is taught with the seriousness of a lecture hall because it is entertaining at the same time. In that case, artists create a greater impact in teaching and educating the community because their knowledge is packaged as edutainment rather than pure education, which may not be appealing to the disinterested members of the community. The artist is responsible for documenting the history of the community for the sake of future generations by recording historical happenings in works of art; this is a very significant role of the artist because the history of a community can be lost to future generations and forgotten completely if it is not documented well. Artists therefore play the role of custodians by preserving the history of a community through works of art and passing it on to future generations, thus, maintaining a constant link between the rest of the community and their roots. For instance, artists can capture historical events such as wars or catastrophic events that wreaked havoc in the community such as famine and such records become significant points of reference later in the future, as a constant reminder of the past to later generations. In this case, the historical events and happenings in the community become a relevant source material for art and the same is true for the works of art, which later become significant sources of historical information to later generations. The artist is also responsible for cautioning/forewarning the rest of the community about what could potentially befall them in the future; in this context, the artist explores the exponential power of his/her imagination to predict the future conditions. In this role, the artist acts as a prophet of the future by forewarning the rest of the community of what could happen in the future, thus, the community stays aware, or prepares to respond to the future event. For instance, artists have once produced works of art that predicted real historical events that took place in the past long before they even happened; in this regard, works of art are extremely powerful because they can shape the course of a community in the future. By simply observing the happenings in the community, artists can be able to recreate reality that depicts what could happen if the given situation or present conditions in the community are to persist into the future. Ultimately, from the various roles of an artist discussed above, the thought that an artist creates for himself/herself is practically unfeasible because they have a responsibility to the communities in which they live in; the artist must create works of art that respond to issues in the community, by providing practical answers to humankind. Works Cited Herberholz, Barbara. The artist's role in society. Arts & Activities. 149.3 . 2011. p18. “What is the relationship between art and society?” Theoryofknowledge.net. Online. (n.d). Web. 22 Oct. 2013 Navarro, Allen. Understanding the relationship between Art and Social Change. Robinhewlett.com. 2011. 22 Oct. 2013 Read More