Name:_____________________

Date: ______________

Often the question has been raised of whether life imitates art or art imitates life. The question addresses both art’s purpose and its inspiration. It applies to visual arts like painting, photography and sculpture as well as writing, music and film. Take, for example, a song about disrespecting authority. The question arises: does the song cause listeners to emulate the behavior described by the lyrics? Or does the song simply “tell the tale” of what the musician perceives is going on in the world? How this question is answered may affect both how we interpret certain works as well as how work is presented and shared with the public.

Directions: Choose a Newsweek article about a work of art—whether it be a painting, a sculpture, a song, a poem, a photograph, or a film. Read the article and then answer the questions and complete the exercises below.

1. Examine the work the article discusses. You may need to visit a bookstore, movie theater, library or museum, or go online to download a song.
2. What is the work about? What is it showing, telling, describing, or discussing?
3. Do you believe the work imitates life or that the work will serve to encourage others to act a certain way?
4. Why is this question important? What responsibilities might the public, the government, or private companies have if life does indeed imitate art? (i.e., rating or censoring work, educating the public, and so forth) On the other hand, how might we be able to use art if it does indeed imitate life?