Excerpted from "Artists in Times of War" An edited version of a talk given at the Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, Mass., October 10, 2001."When I think of the relationship between artists and society–and for me the question is always what it could be, rather than what it is–I think of the word transcendent. It is a word I never use in public, but it is the only word I can come up with to describe what I think about the role of artists. By transcendent I mean that the artist transcends the immediate. Transcends the here and now. Transcends the madness of the world. Transcends terrorism and war.
The artist thinks, acts, performs music, and writes outside the framework that society has created. The artist may do no more than give us beauty, laughter, passion, surprise, and drama. I don't mean to minimize these activities by saying the artist can do no more than this. The artist needn't apologize, because by doing this, the artist is telling us what the world should be like, even if it isn't the way it is now. The artist is taking us away from the moments of horror that we experience everyday–some days more than others– by showing what is possible.
But the artist can and should do more. In addition to creating works of art, the artist is also a citizen and a human being..."
The artist thinks, acts, performs music, and writes outside the framework that society has created. The artist may do no more than give us beauty, laughter, passion, surprise, and drama. I don't mean to minimize these activities by saying the artist can do no more than this. The artist needn't apologize, because by doing this, the artist is telling us what the world should be like, even if it isn't the way it is now. The artist is taking us away from the moments of horror that we experience everyday–some days more than others– by showing what is possible.
But the artist can and should do more. In addition to creating works of art, the artist is also a citizen and a human being..."
-Howard Zinn
