Resumen de Artists in Times of War
Patricia Leighten responds to Ariel Dorfman's play Picasso's Closet, the text of which is published in this issue. Picasso's Closet penetratingly explores how and why an artist so finely attuned to the destructive forces of war continues to make art in the face of its irresistible and horrifying power. We find that for Picasso, the responsibility of the artist in times of war is the same as in times of peace, especially when that peace is predicated on injustice: to make art that stands for life against death. Dorfman's play affirms this artistic outlook and yet acknowledges the guilt and ambiguity that suffused its active expression in the case of Picasso's life.
