Kōrero Toi: On the responsibility of the artist

ARTS | ISSUE EIGHT | SCREENS

Written by Ethan Morais (he/they) | Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Pikao, Ngāti Hori ki Kohupatiki, and Malayali | @morais.ethan | Contributing Writer

The camera is the defining tool of our times. 

To re-present the world in images is to set the parameters of the world, and to shape our collective understandings of it. Because of this, we as artists must be conscious of how and why we use the lens; we must ask ourselves what world we want to make.

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The camera engages with all that is external. It creates an archive of moments, capturing distance, light, and gesture. It struggles to show anything from our internal world. In many ways, this is a strength. 

The camera and the image gives us the opportunity to platform voices distant from our own. To re-present people outside of ourselves. It asks us to focus on the communities that we live in.

With this privilege in our hands, we then ask ourselves:

What part of the world do we choose to re-present ? 

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Media has the power to awaken or sedate. While we can try to avoid our problems, art can never escape the times in which it was made . It is always the product of the times. But works of art shouldn’t shy away from this. We should never forget where we are.

With the ability to re-present voices that are neglected or ignored, we are given the responsibility to do so. With a camera in hand, we should aim to speak about the most pressing, most immediate things. Things that are sometimes confronting.

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But with our platform, with our education and our voices, when we show people important issues - violent issues - we must offer ways forward. It's irresponsible to put misery on camera and then offer nothing but misery. We cannot put so much effort into our work just to tell people that our problems are insurmountable. Art must reflect our problems and show people how we overcome them.

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Art is a social tool with the power to move the most people by presenting an image of shared sufferings and joys. But it is not all-powerful. We must try to make our art the instigating factor in the viewer, the inciting incident. To give them something to leave the gallery with. Because we must admit that art itself does not change the world. 

People look at art and they change themselves.

So in many ways, it's our job to show people that they have agency over their lives.

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The responsibility of the artist is to give voice, platform, and attention to the most important issues of our times. To awaken and instill agency within the viewer. And finally, it is the responsibility of the artist to have the work, and have themselves, be a part of the world.

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“Art is not a mirror held up to reality. Art is a hammer with which to shape it.”