Waldorf

But artists are like people and, sometimes or often, criticize all sorts of things in society. And why shouldn't they? The arts in particular lend themselves perfectly to taking a critical look around you. It is not unusual for an artist to be able to look at what is going on in his or her immediate or wider surroundings without social interest and with a certain distance. It is about involvement in society, an involvement that we also saw in our podcast series What's that doing here? (in this context, also read Christiaan Weijts' essay he wrote for BK-infomration following the podcast series).

Artists are just like people

An artist can have the position to think and act independently and thus lives in a free space from which they can observe, judge, make connections, formulate and ventilate criticism undisturbed. Sometimes very implicitly, sometimes very explicitly and in every possible way but especially in ways that another had not thought of before.

Why, then, is it regularly heard that artists should stick to their lasts (or easel, paper, brush, hatchet) and leave social criticism or engagement to 'someone else'? Is it because of that independent position of artists, which means they are not bound by politically correct opinions or politically correct "no opinions," so their criticism and the place where they express it (in the art world) are seen as "too easy"?

That sanctuary, which the arts sometimes are, is not infrequently a threat

Artists who are good at looking around, knowledgeable and able to make connections are pre-eminently in a position where they can raise issues, comment and actually set change in motion. You could say they are in a sanctuary. A place where you flee to and where you are safe, as if you are granted asylum within your own social context, free space to shape and organize your own life. A position that is enviable, but certainly not everyone would want to take on, because it requires a lot of initiative, a sense of responsibility, perseverance and resilience.

That sanctuary, which the arts sometimes are, is not infrequently a threat, to governments, institutions and individuals alike. And all the more so when criticism emanates from that place. It is no accident that in many more or less totalitarian regimes the arts are the first to perish - along with independent journalism. A threat emanates from artists and the opinions they might afford within the independent arts. All the more reason to cherish those opinions