Art neither exists in a vacuum nor does it emerge from one. I know the idea of the artist as a lone and individual character, stoically observing the world, and passionately critiquing it is one that has stuck. On the other hand, so has the idea of the artist as a somewhat odd character, marching to the beat of his or her own drum, creating statements that are years ahead of his or her own time or from an entirely different reality. In this latter construction, somehow, the artist is a kind of seer. Yet, despite the tremendous power imbued to them, they seem to be the most irrelevant of beings in Guyana. Not that I think they are. Absolutely not. But they are treated as such.
