Without exception, every artist I’ve spoken with during the ensuing days since Sept. 11 has had the same response: numbness, speechless, knocked off center, uninspired, almost incapable of creating any art to express the grief. I have felt the same. The sensitivity for which artists are famed, and without which we could not find our muse, is a double-edged sword. It gives us the insight to create something of poignance, capable of moving people profoundly; it also debilitates us until we’ve taken the necessary time to process our shock. Small wonder that very little significant art comes out of war. It comes out on the periphery of war, or after war, when time for processing and healing has taken place. Art does not necessarily belong to the leisure classes, as it is often criticized, but it does take a degree of leisure, and indeed freedom (at least of expression) to create the art in the first place.

Watching the fall of the World Trade towers was visually indelible. Yet I believe, as artists, that we know the seeds of creativity are within the cloud of destruction (think of how much the world has unified within a short period of days) ­ just as the seeds of destruction are within the aura of creation. (All architecture eventually crumbles, music goes into the ether, the painter’s canvas will disintegrate, etc.) Is it not true that artists may have a unique take on world events? And yet, how often, if ever, have we bonded together to form a collective voice towards goodness?

There are many thousands of artists around the globe who consciously work toward a better, more whole society. Last weekend the world lost a musician who believed in the power of music to bridge cultures. Isaac Stern succeeded as an outspoken activist solely because of the respect given him as an artist. There are many involved in films and theater productions which address social responsibility. Countless writers are preaching tolerance, human rights, and environmental sustainability. Dancers and painters are conveying human emotions in ways that have never been witnessed before.

We may be moving into a dark time in the Western world. The role of the artist to communicate the inherent goodness of all people now becomes more crucial. It would be arrogant and preposterous to assume that the artist can help eradicate evil in the world. No, but as messengers of peace, we can demonstrate how to triumph over it. In theological terms, art is perhaps the most beautiful expression of humanity’s searching for union with God.

Now is the time for artists to address the subject of peace (hardly a passive concept), of globalization, of tolerance and human rights for all. The world desperately needs our collective voice. If this interests you, please email me back a message, jedimmock@comcast.com and join a list-serve of like-minded artists, called Artists for Global Peace (AGP). This group is a project of the United Nations Association of San Francisco and aims to support artists in their endeavors towards peace, and form a collective voice to address the leaders of the world. AGP also aims to be a link between artists and their public. The success of AGP will be gauged by whether it can indeed become an international voice. If you know of artists that this would interest, please forward this letter to them.

Jonathan Dimmock