Art in Troubled Times
May 8, 2017What is the role of art, in particular the visual arts, in troubled times? There is no question that we live in troubled, some would say say dangerous, times. Should art and artists be politically engaged or should art provide an escape from the realities of day to day life? Art history provides many examples of both positions. I have struggled with this question for over half a century. This is a video of a talk, recorded by Stephen Scott, that I gave at the Gallery on Queen in Fredericton, New Brunswick on the 7th of April, 2017, on my current thoughts on the subject.
Virgil Hammock 
[…] year around this time I gave a talk in Fredericton, New Brunswick at the Gallery on Queen titled Art in Troubled Times [link to video]. The issue to me at the time was whether the mission of art was to confront the […]