Art and Theory
Artists world wide are in the modern days taking up the political responsibility in their areas of operation. According to most of them, their role is to streamline issues and openly discuss matters where these issues seem not to be working well. Most artists have chosen not to be directly involved in the politics but rather act as commentaries exposing the big picture to the public. For instance, Thomas Nast used cartoons to expose politicians involved in a scandal in 1870’s discussing the disappearance of taxpayer’s dollars amounting to above 200million dollars (Fischer, 1996). Artists rise up to question the actions of politicians and why they opt for certain means of solving problems. In times of war, artists in the music industries have stood firm to try and stop war by inciting citizens to think and reason at an individual level. This was experienced in Kenya during the 2007 skirmishes.
Currently, more artists are directly engaging in politics. They achieve this by first explaining the evils in the government and the need for change. Since they have become so famous, some win the positions without much struggle. American artists have not been left behind in this. According to Robert Westervelt, art represents the will of the people (Sheppard, 1994). His art portrays his active involvement in the democratic system. In his view, voting is a democratic right of the people. If they do so without the inferences of the politicians, then they will attain freedom.
Rollins, a newspapers editor ran for various state offices but his success varied from one office to the other. He depended on Bingham who gave speeches concerning him and spearheaded his campaigns for his success (Fischer, 1996). However, Bingham later ran for the position of the state house representative. In my opinion, most artist run for political position due to greed. They seek for a chance for personal gain as in the case Bingham. Every time he was involved in the campaign, he demanded for a pay after the candidate won. He also gave favors to his family members after getting to a position of power. By doing this, he did not represent the will of the people as was his theme. After winning the elections, the results were contested and ruling made in favor of his opponent. This was crucial in his painting as he fought for the democratic right of the citizens. In 1948, he won the election (Sheppard, 1994). Though both Rollins and Bingham were artists, they different ambitions in politics and quest for power.
Politic defile the artists unless one is in a position to withhold integrity. In my opinion, artists should remain active in politics as the eye of the citizens. However, they should not be involved directly in politics as some engage in the so called “dirty game” as in the case of Rollins and Bingham. This is evident in the modern days where artists who once stood against corruption engage in it after attaining a sit in the government. There are cases where artists have been bribed to speak well of a politician and influence the voters to vote for him. This mainly happens when the politician fears losing the position to his or her opponent.
Artists like Kandinsky chose to incite the viewers of their art by exposing social evils and the happenings in the political arena. His art articulated an abstract language that developed emotions on every one that viewed them. If the artists are to be involved in politics and make any difference, they should avoid misusing their art simply o make a name for themselves at the expense of the opponent. Their art influence the viewers than the speeches made by the other politicians (Fischer, 1996). As a result, they should respect the voters and not merely incite them for no apparent good reason. However, it would only be best if they expose what is happening in the political arena and give possible solutions while remaining out of the political games. Those that seek for positions of leadership should maintain integrity.
References
Fischer, R. (1996). Them damned pictures: Explorations in American political cartoon art. Archon Books.
Sheppard, A. (1994). Cartooning for suffrage. Mexico: University of New Mexico Press.
