We Are All Influenced

Readers, have you ever lived through a war? Have you ever lived through two wars? Have these two wars ever divided all the nations in the world to a point where almost everyone died?

I have.

It may not seem like it would influence one’s work, but it does. Other artists at the time of these wars simply continued with their lives, not concerning themselves with war.

My question, however, is how can you not concern your self with something that big on the global scale? Things like World War I and World War II literally effected everyone on the planet, whether they knew it or not. All the major artists in the world were located near or in Paris, which was a big center for war.

Most of these artists ignored the war and did their own thing. How can you do that? How can you be, quite literally, in the middle of a battlefield and not be influenced by the things that go on around you? War is not to be taken lightly. People die, cities are burned, and I’m supposed to expect anyone, let alone someone who interprets the world for a living, to just go on with their life as if nothing has changed? It’s ridiculous. It’s not possible.*

War isn't just about politics between countries. It effects everyone in so many different ways. Temperaments change based on where you live. Someone becomes your enemy just because someone with 'power' told them to.

We as artists and humans need to stop lying to ourselves about how current events influence our lives.

*Danchev, Alex. 2006. "The Strategy of Still Life, or The Politics of Georges Braque." Alternatives: Global, Local, Political 31, no. 1: 1-26.