THE TIMES.
What does Claude say about soul?
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What does Claude say about soul? > > > > >
What is the duty of art and artists in 2026?
That question has been ringing off in my head a lot while working on projects this year and trying to answer it has made me want to flip the script on some of the aspects of how I approach this thing I love so much. It’s cliche to quote, and I don’t think I care because the woman is a great inspiration to me, but Nina Simone once said that “an artist’s duty… is to reflect the times.” And truth be told, these days I wonder how you even reflect times like these.
When I look around, in my opinion the times is schizoid.
At 28 it’s somewhat unsettling to witness a bizarro-world funhouse mirror adult version of my memories of being a toddler in a house with two parents who seemed to only ever watch the news. It’s war in the middle east again, we have assisted in the killing of another foreign leader, the president crazy, gas high as hell, the country and damn near the whole world is trending more conservative, and the powers that be are pretending we are not on the verge of economic collapse. It’s a blast from the past except this time around the weed might be legal, the pills make you skinny, and it’s a computer in your pocket that talks back to you. Catch up.
The status quo we once knew does not exist anymore. In many ways this thing we’ve referred to as the American Dream has slowly over time become less and less attainable to the average American. Eventually for the majority of Americans, the American Dream will be a myth. A tale told of times where the streets might have damn near been paved with gold as long as you could commit your mind to the myth and your faith in the petrodollar. The money says “IN GOD WE TRUST” and the preacher asks for ten percent weekly. Thirteen percent of your tax dollar goes to supporting the military industrial complex and death and destruction in what used to be known as the cradle of civilization. Make that make sense.
I’m rambling at this point, but all this is to say that from my point of view as an artist, the times are being molded as we create in them, and on the flipside of that, maybe it is time for us as artists to try and define the times we are meant to reflect. What does art look like in a world where movements are less reactionary and more visionary? What does art look like in a world collapsing in slow motion? Things are changing, and in some ways, we have to be stewards and communicators of that change, or else, the powers that be get to set the narrative. And quite frankly, I don’t trust them to tell the story right.
With that being said, I believe the future of The McCray Arts Shop is becoming visionary and not reactionary. I want to paint the picture of what the world could be rather than what it shouldn’t be, because unfortunately, we’re already there. Utmost respect to Ms. Simone, but in 2026, I think we have to dream a little bigger.
Stay tuned.
