Category — Social

Before I get started again on this little project, let me say up front: these ideas are preliminary, they are unfinished. I do not in any way claim any of this to be the last word, just my own start on a massive subject. Dooyeweerd’s aspects are empowering, not limiting. I would love to see this list grow. If you read back over earlier posts, you will see I have covered the pistic, ethical, juridical, aesthetic and economic aspects of the arts. Please, feel free to add to these lists and make any suggestions you have. There is much more to be said and done. 

Social aspect
1. Every sphere of life might be enriched by the arts, and benefits from the application or performance of artistic works. Art happens at various levels and in varying forms, and these considerations should be taken into account and attuned to the various social spheres. Being appropriate is normative. Led Zeppelin at a ladies luncheon might not work very well. Jazz is better experienced in more intimate settings, and does not translate well in an arena. 

2. The arts are a unique social sphere. The church is not the foundational center for the arts, neither is the state, neither is the family. The arts are a distinctive social sphere that exists cooperatively with the other spheres. Today there is a movement to make the church the center for the arts, or a holding tank for artistic work. Any work that is done outside this sphere is not deemed useful or purposeful. This betrays a denial of the other social spheres as established by the Creator. It is wrongheaded, based in the same magnetic Nature-Grace ground motive of the Middle Ages. Pastors should stop trying to be dictators of art. The idea that we should have “art-pastors” is based in the same “sacred-secular” notion. The church should encourage people in their vocations outside the doors of the church. Pastors, stop ripping the heart of your people in two!! 

3. Artistic production is based on various social interactions that are normative: collaboration, friendship, cooperative initiative. Mentorships and apprenticeships ought to be encouraged and pursued. Students of the arts should be with older, more experienced persons as they pursue their work. The older should take the younger under their wing. The younger should seek out relationships with older artists. Gallery work or doing a load-in/ load-out with an established artist is a simple but powerful way to get young people involved. This was something regularly practiced by jazz musicians, and still is today. Jamaican musicians have a long history of mentorship and training.

4. Some social interactions are of necessity confrontational. There may be at times a prophetic element to artistic works. This is especially true during times of social confusion and state dominance. The period of American Hardcore music, although short lived, was born out of a frustration with the absolutist attitudes regarding social status that predominated in the 1980’s. It may have lacked a well thought out articulation, but it had a heart that expressed a youthful rage toward a growing bourgeois attitude toward the poor and disenfranchised. The film “Wall Street” represented the decadence and way of assent presented to young people in that time. American Hardcore was a response to that. 

5. A social relation is created between the artist and the viewer/ listener. The artist offers their work and the viewer or listener openly receives it or rejects it. The medium of the work creates a connection in one way or another. In some cases, the audience identifies with the work, and as such, identifies with the artist. This has powerful ramifications, both for good or evil. The symbolic power of an artistic work shapes attitudes and values. 

6. Artistic production is socially formative. Art can create harmony among a large group; it can also create disharmony, a bourgeois attitude and cliques based in taste or styles. Inclusive and exclusive attitudes can be shaped and informed by artistic works. 

7. Local artists should be free to form their own associations and unions for the work of production and promotion. Artists should seek to build up the artistic community as an institutional sphere in society. Artists should encourage leaders in their midst and seek further development for the sake of social influence. 

8. Art creates social moods, feeling and atmospheres. Events are enhanced by artistic works. Art introduces a multi-perspectival element into a single event, enhancing social interaction. Art can take people out of themselves and provide the freedom for discourse over a shared experience. 

9. Art has a physical aspect that can enhance an atmosphere. Music is physical and has the power to sooth and stimulate the senses beyond simply hearing. Low and high frequencies in music create various kinds of sensations and moods.