Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Memo to U.S. Artists: Key on German Activism
Clyde Fitch Report: The American arts community — in responding to the coming Trump presidency — might take a cue from the activist diligence of cultural leaders in Germany.
In early November, Berlin Akademie der Künste (Academy of the Arts) sent an open letter to Chancellor Angela Merkel. The missive urged her to seek immediate release of jailed artists in Turkey.
The academy, founded in 1696, notes on its website that it is “one of the oldest cultural institutes in Europe. It is an international community of artists and has a current total of 400 members in its six Sections (Visual Arts, Architecture, Music, Literature, Performing Arts, Film and Media Art).”
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Recently, I’ve seen people commenting that it isn’t the role of the artist to be political. These same people say artists should be creating entertainment or “beautiful,” “joyful” things. Not that I haven’t seen this type of commentary before, but it has come up more frequently in the last year or so because it’s an easy, dismissive way to undercut artists with contrary opinions. Clearly these people have a limited understanding of art history, but what’s more disturbing is that they want to silence others because the work they produce doesn’t comfort their preconceptions. Artists are not court jesters. They’re not here to make you happy.
I understand there are many artists who don’t wish their art to be political. They have that right and I don’t begrudge them that choice. But I do think it’s the responsibility of most artists, especially those who embrace their roles as cultural truth-tellers / critics / investigators, to not only make political art, but to take political action alongside their work. We have to do more than just make art. We have to live the intent of our art, too.
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