How Do We Respond? A Question to Artists

To some, the creative process needs no justification or rationale; yet there are times of upheaval in history that seem to ask the artist: Why are you creating this? What is your purpose? What social change do you hope to achieve with your art? Mirka Knaster is one such artist who has explored the question of how artists use their work to address political concerns. In this post Knaster discusses several artists "who do choose to give public voice to their concerns and resist the wrongs they perceive." Included in the wide array of visual examples is the work of Photographer Henryk Ross and Columbian artist Doris Salcedo, who used art to evoke the horrors of living through genocide and political turmoil. This piece illustrates how diverse artists across the ages have used their gifts to bring attention to oppression and injustice in powerful ways.

http://www.dailygood.org/story/1982/how-do-we-respond-a-question-to-artists-mirka-knaster/