Can the Arts Alter Society? Taking Responsibility as an Artist!
Most people think of artists as independent thinkers who don’t care about the outside world, but… is this truly the case?
What role does art play in modern society?
No one can provide a clear answer to these issues, yet it is undeniable that being an artist carries with it a certain level of responsibility and social significance. Artists, unlike politicians or marketing executives, don’t have as clearly defined duties and responsibilities, but they still have a significant impact on society in a variety of ways.
We’ll go through ten ways that artists are influencing society and improving the world at large.
1. Artists convey a general feeling
Normal people tend to conceal their emotions and common problems, but artists can express universal emotions in these situations. We all have hopes, anxieties, dreams, and delusions, but it appears that only artists can communicate these things in a straightforward manner.
You can write excellent college papers, but only a true novelist can craft tales with a message that is applicable to everyone. All artists’ main purpose is to convey human feelings and give us all a sense of optimism and tranquility.
2. The purpose of artists is to tell the truth.
Numerous socially conscious artists firmly feel that they must speak the truth to the world even when everyone else chooses to act as though they do not perceive it.
Consider Banksy as an example, since he consistently finds a unique way to draw attention to social injustice.
While not all artists are as blunt and to the point as Banksy, the reality remains that poets, sculptors, and other artists exist to serve as artistic reminders of the things we are unable to or do not wish to see.
3. Artists are challenging conventions in ways:
Artists, of course, are also tasked with subverting convention and locating unknown territory. They are the cutting edge, the artists and writers whose work is distinguished by its boldness and originality of approach. It’s not just about art that we’re discussing.
Artists, on the other hand, have a reputation for subverting established orders and offering novel forms of community interaction to their audiences. Artists may have a positive or negative impact on society, but they will never stop exploring methods to challenge convention and shape culture.
4. Artists perpetuate culture by teaching future generations
This duty is very different from the freedom artists enjoy when they defy convention. And there is no mutual exclusion between the two. Indeed, they complement and strengthen one another to produce the sole inherent synthesis of creative endeavours.
Across several mediums, artists perpetuate customs and history for future generations. Even when they make modifications to tradition, they still have to rely on established practices and customs from the past.
5. Artists call attention to issues.
What would the world be like if artists didn’t highlight and express some of the most pressing issues of their time? As you might expect, the answer is “no,” as this would significantly diminish the creative potential of art history.
The artwork Guernica by Pablo Picasso is one of the most famous acts of resistance against fascism. The slaughter of a Basque village in 1937, depicted in Picasso’s Guernica, has come to symbolise every city that has been destroyed in history.
6. The world needs artists because they make life better.
Remember this one thing: artists make the world a better place to live in. Their words can move people to action. Simply experiencing one of their works in visual or auditory form can elicit a wide range of emotions, from mild amusement to profound excitement.
The final movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, “Ode to Joy,” is all you need. As the song continued to gain popularity, it was adopted as the EU’s official anthem. That’s how much of a difference art can make in society.
7. The arts are a mirror of social norms
Every artist, whether intentionally or not, reflects the norms and beliefs of the society in which he or she lives. The paintings, poetry, books, sculptures, and other works of art they create reveal their roles as fervent observers and analysts of local cultures.
For this reason, it’s easy to tell communist artists apart from their liberal counterparts. There are, of course, striking contrasts between the works of artists from various historical periods, nationalities, and so on.
There are, of course, striking contrasts between the works of artists from various historical periods, nationalities, and so on.
8. Through their work, artists foster a sense of community.
Artists also play a role in fostering a sense of community pride and identity. Rather than limiting ourselves to discussions of national communities, we may extend this to any group of people who share common interests.
Some musicians, for instance, serve as role models for political factions, while others provide financial support for lifestyle communities. This is why the phrase “rock and roll is more of a lifestyle than a genre of music” is so commonly used.
The same holds true for every other kind of art and every other artistic subculture as well.
9. Artists promote and encourage cultural variety.
It’s difficult to conceive of a modern nation that isn’t multiethnic and multilingual. It turns out that artists have a tremendous obligation to push the boundaries of a nationalist worldview in the name of multiculturalism.
Because of this, it’s fair to say that some artists serve as excellent representatives of their nations. Fela Kuti, for one, brought Africa to the attention of the world, while Haruki Murakami, for another, made Japanese literature accessible to Western youth.
10. Artists are sometimes used as propagandists.
The danger of art devolving into pure propaganda is worth noting because it is one of the major obligations of contemporary creators.
Just as Sergei Eisenstein aided Soviet revolutionary propaganda in the first half of the 20th century and James Montgomery Flagg’s “I Want You” aided recruitment for the first and second world wars, so too did the famous film director Leni Riefenstahl contribute significantly to the rise of the Third Reich.
Final Thoughts
While it may be a stretch to say that creative types like painters, writers, and musicians have a duty to improve society, there is no denying the positive impact that art has on people’s lives.
While there are numerous ways in which creative people can make a difference in their local communities and the larger cultural landscape, these are among the most prominent.
Their art can bring about lasting societal change by illuminating cultural ills or inspiring readers to work for positive social transformation. There is no escape from art!
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