It seems obvious, looking back, that the artists of Weimar Germany and Leninist Russia lived in a much more attenuated landscape of media than ours, and their reward was that they could still believe, in good faith and without bombast, that art could morally influence the world. Today, the idea has largely been dismissed, as it must in a mass media society where art's principal social role is to be investment capital, or, in the simplest way, bullion. We still have political art, but we have no effective political art. An artist must be famous to be heard, but as he acquires fame, so his work accumulates 'value' and becomes, ipso-facto, harmless. As far as today's politics is concerned, most art aspires to the condition of Muzak. It provides the background hum for power. Robert Hughes
About This Quote

A lot of people think that art is a form of communication that they can use to make a difference in the world. The idea that art can influence politics is very appealing to most people. However, this idea is a fallacy. Art is a form of communication but it does not have the ability to affect real world events or change governments. People enjoy art because it makes them feel good about themselves and their lives, but art does not have the ability to make a difference in anything.

Source: The Shock Of The New

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  1. Until we get equality in education, we won't have an equal society.

  2. Dressing badly has been a refuge much of my life, a way of compelling others to engage with my mind, not my physical presence. Page. 283

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