Читать книгу Gathering Strength: - Peggy Kelsey - Страница 15

1/The Artists

The artist’s life is one of self-expression and discovery. Afghan artists have customarily faced a mixed reception. Performance artists such as singers have traditionally been looked down on, while poets, architects, and non-representational visual artists like tile designers and painters have garnered respect. Even so, women announcers and singers performed on Radio Afghanistan as early as 1957, and in 2003 Radio Sahar,¹ a woman-run radio station, began broadcasting in Herat.

Afghan women artists face serious issues, ranging from the lack of a supportive artistic community to familial misunderstanding and apprehensions, to societal disapproval, to occasional anonymous death threats. But even in this environment of nosy neighbors, conservative relatives, and traditional customs, some women artists feel compelled to stand up to or otherwise work their way around these limitations in order to express themselves.

For many Western artists, and I especially speak for myself, the battles are with my own internal censor and my strong ethic of "work and responsibility" before "pleasure and art." The issue here is one of selfishness. By "selfishness" I mean knowing and honoring my own vision and sense of self; the sense and ability to be "true to one’s self." Self-worth is not the narcissistic interpretation of "it’s all about me." Artists need a certain amount of selfishness in order to create art. We need to know who we are, what we like and dislike, and what we want and don’t want. Being accused of selfishness is a mild criticism in the individualistic West, but a strong condemnation in the communal cultures of the East. Finding and claiming an individual identity is often a struggle.

Afghan women are normally immersed in rich, complex family lives with children, relatives, and girlfriends, plus endless rounds of housework, all vying for their attention. If a woman lives with parents-in-law, as many do, finding personal time is even more difficult.

A woman who tries to carve out her own space is often looked on as selfish and odd. Afghan artists face many internal as well as external struggles unique to their culture. Each challenge takes courage to confront and creativity to work around.

As Afghans struggle to recover from decades of war, art has been relegated to the sidelines. Nevertheless, art plays an important role in helping artists as well as audiences find a way into the future. Young artists are especially important as they bring into being their visions for a new society.