Of Art and News

This blog is a response to a letter to the editor printed in the North Bay Bohemian on August 13, 2025. It was a well-intentioned letter, and the response from Daedalus (who, fair warning, I do freelance writing for) was also well thought out. I say this because my intent is not to shame anyone, it is to address a growing question that people have been voicing about the validity of focusing on 'entertainment' during tumultuous political times.

Read the original letter and response here: https://bohemian.com/your-letters-aug-13/

The basic question is: Why did they put an air guitarist on the cover (who, another bias warning, I know Argo and have done shows for Left Edge Theater, which he started) when there are so many horrible things going on? This is my response.

I don’t like air guitar. However, I am here for anyone who does like it. If that’s the non-harmful path you use to bring a little joy to yourself and to build a community, I will stand right beside you.

Is it art with a capital A? There is no correct answer. That’s one of the things people who like their world in black and white hate about art. You can’t define it. 

Do I think air guitar will overthrow the government and suddenly solve the deep societal and economic flaws that have led to our country's current state? No. But it does do what all art does: it gives people commonality. Commonality is the basis for understanding. Understanding is the basis for change. There may be disagreement on whether a Joan Jett song or a Jimi Hendrix song is better for air guitar, but, in that room, regardless of their stated politics, people are suddenly having a deep, passionate discussion about the greatness of a feminist icon versus the equal greatness of a black man.

We live in an age where we are informed unless we willingly choose to be ignorant. If we are missing some relevant political content, it’s because we have chosen to hide from it.

However, there is no hiding from art. Sometimes we use the word ‘entertainment’ to undermine the importance of art, but we can’t take away the base result.

If you listen to any genre deemed American music, you are listening to hundreds of years of people taking back their power and demanding their voices. All TV, films, and plays are works of collective and communal societies. Surely visual art is safe? I have some bad news for people who claim to love Van Gogh and think that people with mental illness don’t contribute to society. 

Look, this essay is probably going to be disregarded by most people as ‘just another artist trying to justify their bad life choices,’ but it doesn’t matter. 

Let’s say you think my essay is stupid. Then you see a fascinating horror anthology featuring the Egyptian God of justice preying on the ultra-rich*, and as the conceited protagonist is about to get the death you’ve been hoping they get, somewhere in the back of your mind is the thought, “Huh, I agree with this author that the ultra-rich deserve some retribution.” Guess what? You just proved my point by reading and agreeing with my “lowbrow” art even as you disregard my political essay.

So, bring on the air guitar. If enough of us get together, we can extinguish the fires. If all of us get together, we stop the fires from igniting in the first place.

*Shameless plug for my latest story #Rick-Tok that was published this month in the Cat Eye Press Modern Mummies Anthology.