The Artists Speak of Purpose
Day Five of Kwanzaa is NIA (Purpose), and it reminds us that we are not here by accident. Rarely are "normal" individuals as cognizant of this reality as artists, and for this reason, it is wise to both see and listen to some of our artistic ancestors today. Your canvas is calling.
James Baldwin
"The precise role of the artist, then, is to illuminate that darkness, blaze roads through that vast forest, so that we will not, in all our being, lose sight of whence we came and who we are." Source: The Creative Process (1962).
Nina Simone
"An artist's duty, as far as I'm concerned, is to reflect the times. I think that is true of painters, sculptors, poets, musicians. It's their choice, but I choose to reflect the times and situations in which I find myself. That, to me, is my duty." Source: Interview with The Creative Spirit (1968).
Chinua Achebe
"The artist is a witness of his time. He must be a witness to the truth... This is the purpose of my writing: to help my society regain belief in itself and put away the complexes of the years of denigration and self-abasement." Source: Hopes and Impediments (1988).
Elizabeth Catlett
"I have always wanted my art to service my people—to reflect us, to relate to us, to stimulate us, to make us aware of our potential. We must create art for liberation and for life." Source: The Art of Elizabeth Catlett.
Toni Morrison
"When you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly trained for, just remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else." Source: Commencement Address at Barnard College (1979).
Jacob Lawrence
"My belief is that it is most important for an artist to develop an approach and philosophy about life—if he has developed this philosophy, he does not put paint on canvas, he puts himself on canvas."Source: The Artist's Vision.
Sidney Poitier
"I did not go into the film business to be a symbol. But I did go into the film business with a sense of purpose... a responsibility to the people who sent me, and to the people who were coming after me."Source: The Measure of a Man (2000).
Maya Angelou
"I believe that each of us comes from the Creator endowed with an unmistakable and irreplaceable purpose. To find that purpose is to find the reason for being, and to act on it is to change the world."Source: Letter to My Daughter (2008).
Gordon Parks
"I saw that my camera could be a weapon against poverty, against racism, against all sorts of social wrongs. I knew at that moment I had to have a camera." Source: A Choice of Weapons (1966).
Miriam Makeba
"I kept my culture. I kept the music of my roots. Through my music, I became my people's voice... that was the purpose given to me by my ancestors." Source: Makeba: My Story (1987).
Alain Locke
"The pulse of the Negro world has begun to beat in Harlem. Our purpose must be to repair a damaged group psychology and stimuate a new generation to express itself with a new spiritual dynamic. We must turn from the 'problem' of our existence to the 'achievement' of our culture." Source: The New Negro: An Interpretation (1925)