On political audiences: an argument in favour of preaching to the choir
On political audiences: an argument in favour of preaching to the choir
A critique of politically engaged art is that gallery-dwellers, concert-goers and theatre-lovers share the same political inclination as the artists. Often known as ‘preaching to the choir’, the critique holds that art’s power to challenge and persuade is rendered value- less when it is experienced only by people who already hold the same (typically leftist) ideas. In this article I suggest three distinct yet interconnected responses to this critique: namely, ‘expanding’, ‘galvanising’ and ‘activating’ the choir. In the first part I explore ‘expanding’ and ‘galvanising’ through works by Stefan Prins, Sarah Nicolls, Pamela Z and Soosan Lolavar. In the second half I discuss how I ‘activate’ the choir in my own work.
music, Activism, contemporary aesthetics
57-70
Agnon, Uri
532afb15-dcd0-4f0e-950b-eb9aa3f69abf
April 2021
Agnon, Uri
532afb15-dcd0-4f0e-950b-eb9aa3f69abf
Abstract
A critique of politically engaged art is that gallery-dwellers, concert-goers and theatre-lovers share the same political inclination as the artists. Often known as ‘preaching to the choir’, the critique holds that art’s power to challenge and persuade is rendered value- less when it is experienced only by people who already hold the same (typically leftist) ideas. In this article I suggest three distinct yet interconnected responses to this critique: namely, ‘expanding’, ‘galvanising’ and ‘activating’ the choir. In the first part I explore ‘expanding’ and ‘galvanising’ through works by Stefan Prins, Sarah Nicolls, Pamela Z and Soosan Lolavar. In the second half I discuss how I ‘activate’ the choir in my own work.
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Published date: April 2021
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Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press.
Keywords:
music, Activism, contemporary aesthetics
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Local EPrints ID: 452617
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/452617
ISSN: 0040-2982
PURE UUID: ce200e68-310e-4eeb-982c-e63a6586d531
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Date deposited: 11 Dec 2021 11:29
Last modified: 02 Nov 2024 03:14
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Author:
Uri Agnon
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