Unspoken Borders, Essay Example

The primary purpose of art is expression. For each artist, expression has a different meaning. In some cases, this means self-expression. In others, art is used to push social limits and political boundaries. Because the artist creates art primarily for themselves and the messages they wish to spread, it would be unfair to claim that artists have any responsibilities to their society. Even though art is entertaining and can be appreciated by others, it is typically not made for them. Therefore, we can instead consider that society has a responsibility to its artists. They must accept the fact that artists are able to believe and therefore produce their art on any topic of their choosing, whether it contradicts the beliefs of few or many.

When the Danish artist published cartoons featuring a physical form of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, he did so because he believed that he would be able to create a compelling and humorous story. It is possible that this had racist undertones, but it was not the primary purpose. Rather, he was trying to discuss his political point of view in the form of a cartoon. Artists regularly utilize political topics in their pieces, and it would be unfair of us to silence them. Any one of these pieces are equally likely to offend a group of individuals, but this wouldn’t stop it from being released. Therefore, we should avoid seeing the cartoons of Muhammad as a special case.

In conclusion, all artists deserve the right to express themselves, even if this is at the cost of potentially offending members of society. Instead of condemning the artists for what they produce, we need to reframe the opinions that society have of art so that they may become more accepting of this creativity and less likely to be offended.