Can anyone be an artist?
History has taught us that plenty of people, skilled and notable in their time have died unaccounted for; without leaving a mark - a legacy - in society. Furthermore, not everyone can be distinguished or classified as an artist. The intention of the previously stated analogy is to point out that there is a difference between a painter and an artist. This said, and creating an artist-society relation, an impact can only be achieved through the individual’s vision of reality that intends to manifest the sentiment of the populace.
The inquiry presented concerning the main difference between a painter and an artist encloses the questions: who created an impact in society? Whose work outlives its creator? and most importantly, who is able to express an ideology on society? Now, according to terminology, a painter is one who paints a picture and an artist is a person who creates art, defining “art” as a human expression with the purpose of producing work that carries emotional power.
Art is the purest for form of rebellion, from its composition to its core message. Decades ago the impact created by infamous works of art resided solely in the way an artist transgressed the traditional aesthetic during its elaboration. Nowadays, an artist’s impact in society dwells in the possibility of the masses to identify with the fashioning of their work as well as the accuracy of the intended message with current events. A work of art is obliged to discomfort the comfortable and in order for it to prevail it must defy a system, call it politics, religion, culture or society itself. Protest art is the new aesthetic and Banksy is its major proponent; he is the intercessor between art and activism. This anonymous England-based activist and graffiti artist merges satire and common ideology in his work. According to multiple art critic, Banksy is gazed upon as a figure of change and modern ideology but, most of all, he is seen as someone who has transformed the general public’s view of the world’s political situation and street art’s role in society by defying as well as challenging the established system.
In conclusion, can anyone be an artist? No. Everyone can be a painter but, not anyone can become an artist. Only those who manage to comprehend the sentiment of a generation, manifest it in their art and get it to prevail long after their death are worthy of being called an artist. The impact of an artist resides not in how beautiful its painting is, but in the emotional power it embodies.