To give courage, to find meaning, to tell another story, to make wounds howl, to unite, to wake the dead, to console, to summon dreams, art knows how to do it. He never stopped when we beat the drum. Censorship, cancellation, blacklisting are not weapons of peace.
Currently on tour in France, the Saint-Petersburg Ballet performs the Ukrainian anthem before each of its performances! It seems to me quite exemplary, much more in any case than calling into question the conferences on Dostoyevsky, the exhibition of Russian paintings or simply punishing acrobats (even in the most prestigious circles, this remains the fundamental position of the artist) for a war they are not waging.
Ultimately, art is a way of bringing people together. It is our differences that make our identity, and our similarities that make our humanity, and art is at the confluence of these fundamental notions. And it will be more than useful, art, to prevent the madness of the masters and the powerful from infecting the friendship between peoples for too long. On the millstone of the ruins, in the blood of the victims, the metal of hatred sharpens its edge for a century to come.
We ask Russian artists (as well as sportsmen) to condemn this war… This is understandable, but, at the same time, we expect them to show a courage that most of us would maybe unable. Fifteen thousand people have already been arrested in Russia for demonstrating their opposition to the invasion of Ukraine. Any opponent is threatened with 15 years in prison. Not to mention that there would be more political prisoners now in Russia than in Brezhnev’s time! So, yes, with our ass well settled in our democratic comfort, we can give lessons to Russian artists; but what are they worth? He has family in Russia, the Russian artist, even if he shines abroad.
Ukrainians are defending their country with admirable love, courage, pride and pugnacity. It is no wonder that so many people want to join in expressing their solidarity. But the goal of solidarity is not to expose its virtue, it is to help. Do we help anyone by preventing art from doing its work?
Someone will perhaps retort that there is no reason for artists not to be, like so many others, collateral victims of this conflict, which does not give pride of place to the innocent. Precisely, victims, they already are: two years of COVID without shows, without major cultural events, then now, the war that occupies the entire media radar screen. The acrobat doesn’t even have a bench anymore!
Let music, literature, dance, theater and all forms of art remind us how much we are alike by dint of wanting to be different. Let’s not make war on this ally, the artist; I’m not talking about the warmonger sold to Putin, but about all those hard workers who try to legitimize the greatness of the word human, by practicing their art with rigor and passion.