What does being an artist mean?

In a conversation with my husband recently it came to light that he really struggles with what it means to be an artist.  He does art because there is something about his art that touches the souls of others, and we request more.  His first training was not as an artist but as a social worker and if you look at his work you can see that this is still what he reaches for: a way to help others, only now he does it through his art.  He does it by bringing awareness to their plight whether that is the human rights violations done to political activists like Victor Jara, or issues surrounding the homeless on the streets of Memphis.  His art pushes you to think.  It pushes you to get involved.  Hopefully it pushes you to care.  I recently ran across this definition of an artist and I think it fits him well:  (n) artist, creative person (a person whose creative work shows sensitivity and imagination)

Pieces from the Requiem for Victor Jara exhibit

Requiem for Victor Jara

 

This is a post I recently wrote on my daily blog for peace at http://peaceisachoice.tumblr.com/

Artists change the world.  They change it by envisioning new possibilities, by speaking out against injustice, by bringing awareness, by making people think.  When dictators take over the first people they try to get rid of are the artists.  Thus was the case in 1973 for Victor Jara, a musician, theater director, teacher, and political activist in Chile that was brutally tortured and murdered by military forces that over threw the newly democratically elected government.  After breaking his hands, his captors mocked him as he lay on the ground, asking him to play for them, in defiance Victor started singing the Chilean song, “Vinceremos” -We Will Win.
Even though Victor’s body was destroyed, his voice and passion continue on.  Today I was able to help my husband with an art exhibit that pays tribute to Victor Jara and all those whose voices have been silenced but their souls continue to impact our lives.  The exhibit involves a piano that was taken apart and re-imagined into multiple pieces.  I love the theme of this, that even death does not have the final victory, it reminds me of this verse from Luke 8:8, “a seed fell into good soil and grew up and produced a crop a hundred times as great.”  When our lives are used for good, for helping others, for making a difference, it sends echos throughout the world and throughout time.
I am proud that my husband, is an artist that takes art seriously as a way to push people into thinking about social justice issues.  Another group of artists that feel the same are having a show tonight in Chicago to support awareness of the need for the abolition of current day slavery.  You can learn more about their show at http://buyartnotpeople.org/
Songs in honor of Victor Jara: The Clash-Washington Bullets; U2-One Tree Hill from the Joshua Tree album; My Personal Revenge by Jackson Browne on the World In Motion album. Below are some pictures from my husband’s exhibit, the casket like piece has the 19 and the 73 key left in it.