Art and Politics: Where does it fit?

Many people turn to entertainment in times of crisis, often to distract themselves. However, for Shaanan Streett and his band Hadag Nahash, art is a way to spread awareness of political happenings and crises, not to distract from them. Shaanan Streett spent most of his life in Jerusalem, and while he is an American citizen who travels here frequently, he calls Israel home and speaks primarily Hebrew. Between solo albums and his band, he has released nine albums with plans for a tenth, worked on a movie, and also appears on an Israeli children’s show. He also owns his own bar in Jerusalem. A well-traveled, well-rounded, talented man such as Shaanan Streett is full of amazing stories and opinions that he graciously shared with Muhlenberg last Thursday. With stories of his adventures and his music videos as examples of his work, Streett impressed and inspired the audience in Miller Forum.

He shared different examples of his music, some that were politically charged, and others that were personally tied to his life. One of Hadag Nahash’s songs, “Shirat Hasticker,” is made up entirely of ideas from bumper stickers on cars and other vehicles that he and his band had found around Israel. This song was a clear demonstration of one of the biggest points he made that night. When asked what role he thought art played in social and political change, he simply responded “None.” He went on to say that “art echoes the subconscious of the people,” that it’s merely a representation of what people are thinking and feeling about a certain situation at a certain time. By using the bumper stickers as lyrics of a song, Streett is doing just that: he’s looking at what the people are saying and how they’re feeling, and projecting that into his medium. This is a really interesting take on this idea. In my experience, if you ask an artist the power of art (myself included), they will rattle on and on about the historical importance of art and its influence on society. Streett, however, did not give any power to his art that he didn’t truly think it had. He spoke to the idea that it’s not his job to make change, it’s his job to make art.

Another really interesting aspect of the night was what Streett said about Israel and the world’s perspective on Israel. He spoke about how the world sees Israel as struggling, and that it’s true, but the world doesn’t see the joy that Israel has. He shared that yes, Israel is struggling trying to fit into the Islamic Middle East as a non-Islamic nation, yes Israel struggles economically, but also how there’s visible hope in Israel. On the issue, he said that there’s “lots of hope in Israel, we’re the heart of the problem and the key to the solution.” As a non-Jewish, non-Israeli person, it was really interesting to hear someone speak to this issue and get an idea of who was truly in the middle of it all. This kind of perspective is exactly the kind that Muhlenberg students need, and it was amazing to hear someone so talented and intelligent speak on a range of things that were important to him and to share his art.