So a few weeks ago one of my mentors/thesis readers/person whomst I learn from Zach Lieberman brought the question of “What is art in these times?”
I remember the first time this was brought up was on a Zoom call with myself and a few other students and I just kind of did a nod and fake smile. I was screaming inside. Partially because of my condition making it such that I could barely eat food that week, partially because it took almost all of my energy to do anything these days and a lot of times art felt very low on the list.
Throughout the last weeks, physical pain and this question kept returning. My academic/research advisor Ekene asked a similar question in another Zoom call I was in. Another mentor of mine also asked, then a lecturer in my class, all the creators I support on Patreon — this is my life now, I guess.
I cannot escape from my chronically ill body or from people asking what art is and should be right now. Greeeeat.
I gave a few half hearted answers through a lot of meetings and classes.
“People are turning towards art during quarantine!”
“Is TikTok ART? Or do we just hate it because teenagers like it?”
“Well, I think that art is an important to chronicle human history — someday scholars will use art to understand the people who lived through this.”
