I've mused on and often quoted the first words below for many years. I cannot credit the actual writer/s as when I phoned the now defunct magazine in Australia when I first read it none of the staff could recall who had penned it! In any case, for me it has long been the most brilliant comment on an artist's place in the world. I hear Micah 6.8 and Jesus' many directives about loving our neighbor, compassion and grace virtually -shouting- from this passage:
“Great artists have always been at the edge of growing awareness about what was happening in any society. They have been not just entertainers, but poets, painters, agitators, teachers and even prophets. It seems their gift to us is to help us see vividly what is
taking place around us; to raise our awareness about social conditions, about our natural surroundings, to call for a response to human beauty and tragedy, to help us get inside the skin of others. Perhaps the greatest moments for artists are when they move us towards
justice, mercy and compassion. Maybe then they are fulfilling their real destiny as artists and human beings”. -“Tell”, Australian Christian magazine, Vol. 16, No. 3, Sept.-Nov., 1987
This second piece is an excerpt from President John F. Kennedy's remarks at Amherst College, October 26, 1963 explaining the role of the artist in society (which he related to that day's celebration of poet Robert Frost):
"The artist, however faithful to his personal vision of reality, becomes the last champion of the individual mind and sensibility against an intrusive society and an officious state. The great artist is thus a solitary figure. He has, as Frost said, a lover's quarrel with the world. In pursuing his perceptions of reality, he must often sail against the currents of his time. This is not a popular role. If Robert Frost was much honored in his lifetime, it was because a good many preferred to ignore his darker truths. Yet in retrospect, we see how the artist's fidelity has strengthened the fiber of our national life.
If sometimes our great artists have been the most critical of our society, it is because their sensitivity and their concern for justice, which must motivate any true artist, makes him aware that our Nation falls short of its highest potential. I see little of more importance to the future of our country and our civilization than full recognition of the place of the artist.
If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him. We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth." -President John F. Kennedy
Genuine artists, be brave to speak truth in love and above all, to the best of your ability by God's grace, live as well as speak, write, play, paint, draw, sculpt, perform truth -if only a few listen, only a very few have "ears to hear", IF you work in music or any art form as per the above statements you do a service sorely needed. ALWAYS deeply needed in our nation and throughout the world!
As always, thanks for stopping by. -Glenn
That’s great man. I have always had a hatred for injustice. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t feel that way. No matter what laws we pass, good will still be good and evil will still always be evil. The great evil I have seen in this world is that the strong will always victimize the weak. The rich and powerful will always rule over those they can keep down. The beautiful will will always see themselves as better than others not so fortunate. Those truths were always in the forefront of my thought because I was always bullied. My own father was ashamed of me because I wasn’t athletic and preferred artistic and musical expression. I walked away…