I think that this is fairly similar to the question about
whether or not Simpson has to focus on race as she is a woman of color. I think that
the artist has a choice to what they wish to analyze or upon what they wish to focus
their work. I do think that Simpson has made the choice to write about topics that are
relevant to her experience, thereby suggesting that an artist such as her has some level
of social obligation:
readability="11">I do not appear in any of my work. I think maybe
there are elements to it and moments to it that I use from my own personal experience,
but that, in and of itself, is not so important as what the work is trying to say about
either the way we interpret experience or the way we interpret things about
identity.In seeking to
articulate experiences from different social configurations, Simpson has made the call
that her work can speak to a need to see society as it should be as opposed to what it
is. This seems to be Simpson’s call, and something with which she has comfort. I would
offer one more idea here. In the question, the idea of “successful” is something that
bears a great deal of importance. What this exactly means is powerful and has strong
implications on the artist’s obligation to social obligations. If success is defined as
monetary, then the social obligation element is secondary to the need for the artist to
make money. If success is defined as social acceptance, perhaps it will not feed these
ends for the artist to connect themselves to social issues. In the end, the idea of
“successful” is another factor in assessing a topic of artistic obligation to social
matters that is already complex.
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