Preaching to the choir has its rewards. Easy rewards — like a warm bath of egoism, the sort
Miss Piggy takes when she preens in the mirror. It’s great to get feedback from readers, even
when they agree with me. I admit it. John Keene, a man with impeccable judgment, was kind
enough to drop this email my way:
I am writing to express my appreciation for your arts blog, and to weigh in on
Mr. Ed Ettel’s comments on politics and the arts, and his critique of
your column.
As I need not remind you — but will in the interests of making a brief point — artists have, for
thousands of years, used their works in part as vehicles and means of commentary, including
political commentary. In fact, some of the greatest artists whose lives and works have graced us —
to name just a few, Plato, Ovid, Dante, Shakespeare, Milton, Beethoven, Goya, David,
Wordsworth, Shelley, Diderot, Zola, Wagner, Hogarth, Eakins, Twain, Tolstoy, Schoenberg,
Picasso, Kollwitz, Grosz, Mann, Celine, Bulgakov, Grass, Brecht, Neruda, Hindemith, Dylan,
Gutierrez Alea, Soyinka, Saramago, Spero, Kruger, Gordimer, Oe, etc. — have taken overt and
obvious political stands in and through their work, and have created political artworks. That is,
they created enduring works of art that were identifiable political and ideological stances, and yet
not mere vessels of propaganda.
Whenever people make the argument that art and politics cannot and do not mix, I feel it’s
best, in addition to addressing the particular nature of their critique, as you artfully did, to point
out even a few of these numerous examples, as well as to reinforce the point that all art is political
(and certainly ideological), whether it proclaims its politics or not. Mr. Ettel’s argument on this
particularly topic doesn’t hold up, especially against the verdict of the history of the arts — and of
artworks that have lasted and are still enlightening us, thousands of years — or even just decades
or years — after they were produced.
Please keep up the excellent writing, with the ‘tude (!), and let’s hope that it reaches those
outside the choir, including some who might just have tired of the shenanigans of the current
administration, which I like to think of W Ltd. (With an emphasis on the
“limited”!)
W Ltd. — perfect. I can use it. Gracias.
