Art Exhibition Brings Clashing Civilizations Together
Artists are different than you and I. 
They are not bound by the social constructs of religion or nationalism. They can transcend the intentional divisions placed between us by the politicians and business interests of The Establishment.Â
If only artists were brought into the forefront of the dialogue, surely we would have a better chance at letting ourselves see the others humanity, particularly through the art favored by the young. If only we could all dance together at a hip-hop concert, or learn to understand and appreciate one another through the visual arts, including graffiti and comics.
By, say, going to Iran’s cartoon exhibition on the Holocaust.Â
Let the healing begin.
Nice, David! Love the irony. I got a big chuckle out of this line:
“They are not bound by the social constructs of religion or nationalism.”
I’m certain plenty of hippies and counter-cultural types think this is actually true but anyone who has studied art history knows better. In actual historical fact, a great deal of art has been funded by the Church or State and many artists have harbored religious or nationalist sympathies. To provide one example, I’m a big fan of the Mexican muralists. Some (eg Rivera) were communists but they were all Mexican nationalists who incorporated indigenous religious motifs in their work.
This is not to say that groups of artists have not struggled against the appeal of nationalism and religion, some have. The Dadaist movement comes to mind. Check out the MOMA NYC show if you can, it’s great.
Very funny. As a playwright myself, your point about many artists being politically naive and self-aggrandizing is right on.