Does art really have to hold society together?

DAILY SHABAH
By Necmettin Asma

Illustration by Necmettin Asma

Should art entertain or educate? Ever since ancient times, this question has emerged in different forms that amount to the same meaning. If ever the artist should have a duty, I believe that art must be tasked with holding society together. Stripping art of convictions and ideology is almost impossible. All artistic endeavors, wherever they appear, turn out to be extensions of a worldview. Take the art for art's sake approach. Starting as a movement against capitalism, it has become virtually an instrument of capitalism today, emptied of its content. Disdaining art and valuing it above everything else is two ends of the same spectrum. All artistic work that is presented without dismissing the good and without offending society's moral norms deserves the greatest respect. [More]