Embracing an Art of Possibility

The creative arts have taken in on the chin this month. A poorly made trailer for an ill-conceived movie has sparked demonstrations around the world. Are people taking this piece of crap "art" too seriously? Is "art" that dangerous?

Art sometimes is dangerous. It has the power to stir minds, to generate energy, to instigate change. It pries its way into our emotions and stirs up feelings we've been pushing down. It offers new ways of seeing things we may not have expected. It frames issues and personalities in plots and scenes we can be uncomfortable with.

Shouldn't we talk about our feelings? Shouldn't we open our imaginations to new possibilities? Shouldn't we solve problems creatively by tapping into the creative tools and attitudes we learn from the arts?

Ah yes, if we can only do that without throwing dangerous objects at each other!

The answer is not to suppress the arts. The answer is not censorship or surrender. The answer is somewhere within an increased willingness and skill to create real dialogue. To create conversations within the context of honor and respect. To keep our minds open to both possibilities and harm. What might we have done to create harm and what can we possibly do to make things better?

The arts show us that we live in a multi-colored, multi-textured world of possibilities where evil is not always evident and righteousness is seldom absolute. Once we are able to question our own motives and look at our own actions the way others see them, we create the possibility of understanding.

It's not the cure, but it's a start.

The world needs more art, not less. The world will benefit from talking about our ideas and attitudes and playing them out in harmless fields of creativity -- but when they spill out into our streets and schools and places of public gathering we've missed something in the translation. We've missed something in the purpose of creativity.

It is a wonderful honor, terrific challenge, and awesome responsibility to act as an artist. Are we teaching people how to do that effectively? Are we learning to discern mature work from primitive mistakes? Are we allowing people to grow and to make horrible mistakes along the way without striking back in violence?

I like art when it promotes my values of clarity, courage, creativity and compassion. Not all art will do that, nor do I expect it to. But let's give it a chance without expecting it to set the values for everyone. Let's let art illumine our differences while forging new connections, new conversations, new possibilities.

I'm quietly holding on to the possibility that everyone in the world can breathe in with possibility and breathe out with purity. Does it happen all the time? Not yet -- but let's hold on together. Let's create without malice and observe without judgement.

Give art a chance to change the world and the world becomes far more worth changing.

-- Douglas Brent Smith

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