Is it an artist's duty to engage with social, political, and environmental issues? >> TALK BACK >> BACK to all questions I don't know about duty, but it seems that if artists want to be relevant to the world they really should engage with social issues and other people somehow. -Ann Political activism is one of the only remaining legitimate drives behind art. Concerns for social/political/environmental issues are not the artist's duty, but contribute more to the world than any self-indulgent, ego-petting, post-minimal-video-clay performance installations that now inhabit every gallery in gentrified Brooklyn. I don't know that it is specifically an artist's duty; rather, I think it is the duty of all humans living on this planet. It is everyone's duty to engage with social, political, and enviornmental issues in all aspects of life. I think these issues actually lead to great power when artists engage them. When this happens art seems to allow conversations, reflections, and thinking that otherwise does not happen in society. -JT Artists should engage with such issues. Everyone should, but artists can be sentinels who pull us out of the flow of everyday concerns. It is a big responsibility, but we need the artists of the world to do this as much as we need doctors for our health. >> back to top