Art as a Social Mirror
Art can be compared to a social mirror. Male artists will therefore demonstrate the role of women in our culture through their works of art. This is due to the fact that women are a part of the culture that artists attempt to portray in their work. For example, Leonardo da Vinci, a man, created the popular Monalisa painting. One-dimensional perspective was not used in art at the time. Again, at the time, women were not permitted to gaze openly at other men. The vision in the painting of the smiling Monalisa, on the other hand, is direct. Leonardo da Vinci broke the laws and societal expectations perhaps to show women were mistreated at the time.
Art as a Reflection of Society
Tupac Shakur's song, "Keep ya head up," talks about the plights women undergo. He questioned why we beat our women, why we rape our women, mistreat our women, and hit our women yet we all came from women. During that time, the society was misogynistic. Having mentioned that art is an accurate reflection of our society, Tupac Shakur then uses art to show the difficulties women were undergoing at the time. From the above then it is right to say, that it is possible for male artists through their pieces of art to show what women are undergoing in the society.
Addressing the Status of Peoples of Color
Similarly, a white artist can address the status of peoples of color in their works. This is because as earlier said; art is the mirror through which we see ourselves. Thus if a white artist notes the difficulties the people of color are undergoing in the society; the artist can use his art to demonstrate this. For example, recently Eminem did a freestyle rap for BET. In the freestyle, Eminem talks about the racism that is prevalent in the United States. He castigates Trump for his support of the white supremacism. From this example we see, Eminem uses his of rapping to talk about the conditions of the people of color in the society.
Art as a Tool for Depicting Prevailing Conditions
In conclusion, we have seen that since art is an accurate reflection of the society, thus artists are free to use their pieces of art to show the prevailing conditions that exist. We best see ourselves through art. Therefore, male artists are free to talk about the status of women in the society with their pieces of art. Similarly, White artists can talk about the conditions of people of color in their pieces of art.
