art can change the world
this is a speech i gave at Saturday night's Art as Action celebration - I wanted to share it here as well . . . the event was amazing, it was a truly magical night. www.artasaction.org
art can change the world. in these dark and desperate times, this feels like a lofty and naive statement, even for a dreamer like me. art can change the world. like art itself, this statement is something i cannot explain and yet something i know in my heart to be true.
therein lies the power of art: it touches us in a place that we can't necessarily rationalize, but is impossible to ignore. art has the power to impact us - to entertain us, to anger us, to sadden us - to inspire us. by being together in this space tonight and experiencing the art around us, we share a collective experience. we won't all experience this art in the same way - this person could be struck by Mackenzie's powerful imagery, this person could be moved by Johannes' incredible chord progressions - but no matter what you leave here with tonight, you will have shared a common experience. we will have all devoted our Saturday nights to a common goal. in that lies the possibility for inspiration. a seeding of action. the potential for a movement.
Carl Jung said: "all art intuitively apprehends coming changes in the collective unconsciousness." I believe that this is where true unity, real change, can begin. the place where status, gender, race and nationality don't exist. the place where art hits us before we have a chance to over-think it. the place where we are all simply human.
art is a universal language, it has the power to cut straight through the surface and dive deep into the place where we are undeniably human. being an artivist means recognizing that we have a responsibility to utilize that power, to use our creativity and expression to create change. being artivists means coming together as a group of unique individuals and finding a common voice. being an artivist means walking away from this common experience more aware of our own humanity and how that humanity makes us more alike than different. more united than divided.
thank you all so much for coming tonight and joining the artivist movement. i believe art can change the world and i hope you can leave tonight believing it too.
art can change the world. in these dark and desperate times, this feels like a lofty and naive statement, even for a dreamer like me. art can change the world. like art itself, this statement is something i cannot explain and yet something i know in my heart to be true.
therein lies the power of art: it touches us in a place that we can't necessarily rationalize, but is impossible to ignore. art has the power to impact us - to entertain us, to anger us, to sadden us - to inspire us. by being together in this space tonight and experiencing the art around us, we share a collective experience. we won't all experience this art in the same way - this person could be struck by Mackenzie's powerful imagery, this person could be moved by Johannes' incredible chord progressions - but no matter what you leave here with tonight, you will have shared a common experience. we will have all devoted our Saturday nights to a common goal. in that lies the possibility for inspiration. a seeding of action. the potential for a movement.
Carl Jung said: "all art intuitively apprehends coming changes in the collective unconsciousness." I believe that this is where true unity, real change, can begin. the place where status, gender, race and nationality don't exist. the place where art hits us before we have a chance to over-think it. the place where we are all simply human.
art is a universal language, it has the power to cut straight through the surface and dive deep into the place where we are undeniably human. being an artivist means recognizing that we have a responsibility to utilize that power, to use our creativity and expression to create change. being artivists means coming together as a group of unique individuals and finding a common voice. being an artivist means walking away from this common experience more aware of our own humanity and how that humanity makes us more alike than different. more united than divided.
thank you all so much for coming tonight and joining the artivist movement. i believe art can change the world and i hope you can leave tonight believing it too.