Art and Politics

Artists are political by being. Art is political by nature.

Movements of art can change the face of society. The art is a reflection of cultural and personal interpretations symbolic of when it was created. Take for example the earlier religious, and historical paintings.

Those were the issues of that time and place.

People are surprised when they see evidence of an artist being political. Yet it seems to follow naturally for some of us. The intensity of being an artist includes many facets. An artist searches for truth regardless of what they paint. We record our perceptions, & culture as it evolves. Writers reveal the truth, be it is fiction or non-fiction. Artists are the modern day visionaries.

Does it really matter what the subject matter is? I choose to paint things of beauty. One must have a voice and the art is an expression of that. Often artists are often seen as outsiders. As an artist I have often felt I am on the outside looking in, a bird’s eye view of the world. In order to create, I spend many hours in solitude, one way of being objective, in a subjective world.

Yes I have been involved in politics. Growing up in the hippie era, free love, peace, demonstrations, sit-ins, drugs, sex, rock and roll, & the women’s movement. That was the signature of those times. A culturally rich time we will never see again. I do not like labels If you ask me, I would say, I am an artist, a pacifist and a humanist. I would hope my art would be a reflection of that.

Some of the best art is produced under repression, not ideal, yet true. I do not choose to paint political subject matter in my art at this time. I can’t say if that will be true in the future. I do know one thing … the world is ready for a new Renaissance.

"Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known." ~Oscar Wilde