Art is resistance

! [[ why-cheap-art-manifesto.jpg ]]

!Don’t give the money-people control over your creativity

Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock wrote, “You don’t have to be living in a third world country or working for an NGO to a make a difference.”¹

Wolfgang Iser says that good literature is not didactic.² It doesn’t tell us what to think, but it invites us to think with it.

Preserving folk art traditions is resistance.³ To me, Americana is music of the working class. In the mid-century, there were elements of class consciousness explored through folk music. What if I find and cover those songs?

When people are creating, they’re not burning a ton of fossil fuels (usually). They’re not merely consuming stuff. They’re not binge drinking (or at least, they don’t need to be, cough, Hemingway).

Pete Seeger says, “musicians have got a more important role to play in putting a world together than they’re usually given credit for. Because musicians can teach the politicians: Not everybody has to sing the melody.”⁴

William Blake believed imagination would do better to liberate people than either canvassing or protesting.⁵ I wouldn’t say that much, but it sure is encouraging to hear this point of view, as an artist who often feels like their work is not improving society.