Butts In the Seats: Somewhat apropos of the whole value of arts theme of my posts this week, novelist Michael Chabon had a letter titled “What’s the Point,” printed in The Paris Review announcing that he would be stepping down after 9 years as Chairman of the Board at the MacDowell Colony.
When he starts out, he basically sounds defeated, observing that despite overcoming his introverted tendencies to advance the slogan that, “MacDowell makes a place in the world for artists, because art makes the world a better place,” the world is much worse now than 9 years ago.
10 comments:
This is sad and insightful. The thoughts about art and its effects on and with the world is very thought provoking. I understand both sides and perspectives that MacDowell illustrates in his letter. One side, it is very possible that art is meaningless and has no affect on us… anymore that is. It is highly possible that art has no affect because it has strayed away from what it once was and turned into a money-making profit. It no longer is as it once was, specifically during the ages when Greece was the ruling empire. It is less about community and substance and about entertainment, statistics, and above all, money. While art in its true form does still exist, it isn’t vast reaching. However, the other side is that art is everywhere, and it is speaking to us, we just aren’t using it well enough to say anything that insights big change or rebellion. One day we just might.
I understand both sides to this argument. People have believed that art has had the power to change the way people feel about the world and how we live our lives, but the world has significantly changed in the past decade. When are used to be a joyful pastime, we now find it as a way to make a statement about the current climate of society. People are so discouraged by the violence and sadness that we experience that they feel hopeless. They feel as though their art will have no impact on the will for people to change their feelings. Artists, as seen in this article are giving up. However, I believe that even though it seems like there is no point in trying anymore, I believe art is more important than ever. We, as artists, have the power to move an audience with our work. We can make bold statements and take people out of their comfort zones. We can still change the way society works with the power of art.
I love seeing art that fights against the violence and negativity that goes on in the world. With that in mind, I can understand why many people would lose hope in creating art for the fear that any efforts they put in to bring light into the world would be useless. That fear creates a feeling of hopelessness. People may look at that art and simply not care at all about the message that is meant to be conveyed. In fact, seeing art that is meant to fight negativity may perhaps make some people feel even worse in the sense that it makes them wish the world was simply different. At the same time, however, I still believe that art can still continue to bring hope to the world. Art can still be used to inspire people to work harder to make the world a better place. I believe art can be used to show people that it is possible for the world to become a better place, but that is not going to happen magically. Art should be used to inspire people to make the change themselves.
There's something to be said about the idea of theater being an escape for people to get away from the horrors and overall negativity that is our reality, to engulf themselves in stories that are hopeful and are fantastical, but thats just dishonest theatre making. I think that stories that keep it real, that most literally shines a mirror on the world are the ones that end up having the most profound effect on audiences even if they weren't asking for it. There are no definitives in theater and not every story, element, or shocking moment is the same and should be judged individually. It is worth asking when working on pieces that have violence and what-not, what are we trying to accomplish, how profound is this idea rally, will it resonate. Shock value just to be shock value is one thing, but a show that has no hopefulness can speak louder and go places that a simple show has never done.
It's hard to read something when you can sense that the author is just so... defeated. The world feels like it's heading in a never-ending spiral of destruction and horror, and it may feel like art no longer has the power to inspire others to make the world a better place. Chabon goes as far as to say it never did:
"Or maybe the purpose of art, the blessing of art, has nothing to do with improvement, with amelioration, with making this heartbreaking world, this savage and dopey nation, a better place."
My favorite kind of theatre is the sappy, escape-from-reality thrill of a flash-and-trash musical. Though it has no real message that will make me think for days and weeks to come, it's fun and can help me forget the real world. But the power of a piece of theatre that stays true to the real stories of the world, in my opinion, does have the power to inspire others to make the world a better place. A perfect and relevant example is the lovely junior performance piece I got to watch this week. It was so beautiful, powerful, raw, and real. It educated me on all the ways HIV/AIDS can affect people, and how the stigma around the condition is unfound and unfair. After the show, I went and did my own research on HIV/AIDS because I felt like I needed a better understanding.
That is the true power of art. The desire to take action after experiencing a performance is what art can do, and I think that is beautiful. I don't disagree that the world is heading to a scary place, but I do believe that art can still do what it is meant to do.
It does sadden me that now we feel as if we HAVE to make art that makes a ‘point.’ I think it makes it even harder for us to create, because then we feel like we are not doing enough unless the entire theatre is moved to action. We should feel free to create what we want without the pressure of changing the whole world. There are spaces for all types of theatre. The sort of feel good theatre that does not necessarily go out to ‘change the world’, but is there to just make us laugh. There is also the space that holds a mirror up to our face and tells us “This is the world we live in.” It is a tricky situation, because, again, I do sometimes just want to see a silly play, but also want to see something that will challenge and keep me critical of the world.
Although I am quite far from having any expertise on what art is and what it is for, the idea shared here seems to me naive and limited. I do not buy in to the philosophy that art is for making the world a better place. I would argue that, if we are playing in the realm of art as a type of social, public-service oriented activism, it is perhaps most effective or important when the world is very grim. There are a number of books and plays out there (Mr. Burns, Station 11, etc. etc.) that show a cycle of art that moves through a cycle of perseverance despite and audience-oriented consumable content. I prefer the theory espoused in the beginnings of these works in which the characters make art because it is a human essential, and it creates meaning in the slog of staying alive. Maybe the current global situation does not lend itself to optimistic art, but I think that the process of making art is in itself a hopeful enterprise.
Art is meant to be evocative and to act as some form of a medium connecting us to things that we may or may not be able to relate to and 100% understand. A lot of art comes from really deep places. Often at deeps places it is not very beautiful. It is raw and unfiltered. Because of this, most of the art that we see tends to deal with very strong and hard-to-swallow topics. But it is true and it is pure. I do not think the violence and sorrow of the world is too strong for art. We have to realize that the art that we see is around us everyday. Artists use the world and life experiences as inspirations. They just find ways to highlight certain aspects, direct our focus in a specific directions, and blatantly convey messages. The issue may be that the observers of the art may find it hard to deal with those raw and unfiltered truths being blatantly set in front of them. Understandably, some things are hard to be confronted with. They may touch sore spots for us or simply instill fear in us. But the fact of the matter is, it is the world around us and we cannot close our eyes to it. A perfect example of this is the Sandy Hook back to school essentials commercial. The commercial was heavy. A very hard-to-swallow pill indeed. But the truth of the matter is that this is what people were thinking when back to school came around. I have two little brothers, and I would be lying if I said that their safety, in relation to school shootings, did not cross my mind when I saw them headed to start off a new school year. Yes, it is hard to watch the commercial and realize that this is our truth. But should we ignore the truths that we live because it's heavy? I don't think so. The point is to evoke strong feelings and hope that it will stir up enough to bring about change.
-Apriah
It’s disheartening to read the author being so defeated, weighted down by how brutal reality can be despite trying to change it through art. I think that theatre, and other art forms, are powerful because of the commentary it brings about the world. It offers immersive storytelling but at the same time, provokes the audience to think about what the piece is trying to say and what their relationship is to the commentary. Art can expose all the negative and brutal aspects of life but it can also fight it and bring change by conveying a message. Of course, some people will just not get the message, because they don’t care enough or some other reason. But we as artists have to believe that it will change someone and make people better. The point is to affect someone, even in the tiniest ways and make the world better. On a side note, I found the part about the powerfulness of art to be very historically true. The author quotes that artists have gotten their works banned and their voices silenced by the world. Looking back at how authoritarian governments have seized and maintained power, banning art is one of the main methods used to do so. This just proves how powerful art can be and how art has survived those times, if not made artists even louder.
The world is definitely not a worse place than it was 9 years ago, I personally got so triggered when people trying to knock the present down with their blurred images of the past. By complaining how everything is falling apart, we diminished all the efforts done from now and then, also withdrawing ourselves from taking initiative. However, my point is not that the present world is in anyway better than it was. We are all still facing critical issues and being downed by all means of brutalities. Simplifying it down to the word "worse" is just too convenient. All the conditions are in a constant transforming status. When we look back, some of the battles we fought are triumphed, some of them were disasters, the only way out is just keep going and remember what is done and what is undone. Upcoming challenges will not stop emerging, just like our daily life- Crossing off items from the to-do list and add some more.
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