What Is Art? Why Does It Matter?
An Interview With Mark Hardiman
By August Roy
I am the PRM intern on this production, as part of my coursework in the Serving Up Art class, taught by Tom Irwin for the Liberal Studies program at UIS. Over the course of the semester, I have been asked many times what art is, what it means, why it is important to the community, and why I chose art as an important factor in my own life. Myself and the other students in the course are being called to answer questions like "How can art affect a community?" "How can art change lives?" "Can art change perspectives, or affect an individual's view of the world?" I decided this would be a good interview topic for my supervisor and long-time director and artist.
Roy: What is art in your opinion?
Hardiman: That is an interesting question. I think... I think art is what happens when an artist makes a choice. Now you bring up an interesting point. It must be an artist who makes the decision, that is when art is made. Not just any person, but an artist. I don't think it matters what kind of art, be it sculpture, painting, architecture, or my chosen field, theatre. Art could be an artist standing on top of a mountain and throwing a rock off a cliff, but not a rock falling off a cliff of its own accord, because there was no artist making a choice.
Roy: Why does art matter?
Hardiman: Hamlet says, "..to hold, as 'twere, a mirror up to nature; to show virtue her own feature,
scorn her own image..." I think art tells our stories. Art is created by artists who make choices Audience members, specific to theatre, but applicable across the board, relate to art through what they know, through their own perspectives and experiences. Each experience of the art is different, unique and personal.
Roy: So what does that mean for how art can impact an audience? Do you think that art can change perspectives, perhaps even inspire social change?
Hardiman: I think that art can make a change, but it works slowly over time. It is the water on the stone. There are historic art pieces that have caused riots, Waiting for Lefty is one of them Art often serves as a trigger. Ibsen’s A Dolls House inspired the popularization of the feminist sensibility in ways that had not been done before. Boal and Valedez created theatre that inspired change through education. Brecht arguably did the same thing.
For further insights on Waiting for Lefty, wait no longer, a review of the play is here, reference to the riot that broke out after its first performance is here A gripping article about A Doll's House, including relevancy then and now, and here. For a better understanding of Ibsen, try here. For more information on Boal try this, Brecht try this. For information on the contributions of Louis Valdez see the site for Teatro Campesino. See Hamlet, Act III Scene ii, for the full speech Hardiman quoted in our interview.
