The Role of Art in a Dispensation of War…

“Art makes obvious the obscure…”

During times of great upheaval, creative minds have learned to package information in compact expressions. Be it intentional or accidental, the work expressed has left civilizations to reflect, study, or understand their past. Art in a Time of War | The New Yorker.

With its victims and perpetrators, wars create a high-pressured sense of communication. Where humanity faces pain, disagreement, loss and to others a sense of false security and profit, yet in the end, all involved parties face catastrophic life-altering experiences.

Coming from a continent that has faced continuous challenges, I have always sought to understand what could cause society to reach this phenomenon. Pulling back the curtain one finds a very sad state of affairs. Often deals that go south, greed for precious minerals, hoarding of resources, short-sighted rush decisions to save face and disposition of one group by another to exercise its power reveals a much more sinister ploy at play.

Logic and at times empathy and compassion are given a backseat, this is when art plays an essential role. Reminding people why love is paramount, through storytelling, music, paintings and other forms of creative expression, the human consciousness snaps out of its trance of hatred and the dreadful stench of war.

To paraphrase Viviane Westwood, “…the artist’s role is, to tell the truth of things.” Art calls for our better nature when humans and society act on their better principles of unity, community, support, equity, accountability and love.

Divestment from the system of war can bring about a much more cohesive society, where all its members flourish and are called to examine better ways of living, with the high expenditure on war repatriated to programs that benefit communities to bring about equanimity to the world.