I was inspired to comment on artists and their political opinions after a fairly recent post by The Oatmeal, which humorously represented Trump’s hatred of the media and his problematic desire to avoid fact-checking. It was not the art I was concerned with, but the comments that other Facebook users had predicted would rise to the surface; the notion that it was bad for artists to make political art.

Already, this is weird: we know art has, and is, often politically influenced. It can be a response to a change in society’s attitudes towards nature like Romanticism was, and inspiring such pieces like Caspar David Friedrich’s "Wanderer Above The Sea Of Fog;" a painting you would expect to find in some sort of 19th century equivalent of MySpace.

Politically-charged art is hardly limited to visual media. We have seen rap groups like N.W.A use their talent to criticize police brutality and racial profiling, and artists like Destiny Frasqueri use their careers in music to advocate for largely marginalized groups like queer people of color.

Art is political: it has been for a long time. It has reflected history, society and politics among other factors. Art is sourced from creativity but also the context in which it is created, for time dictates more than just the passing of day and night.

Now, one can consider who the critiques of politically-themed art direct their comments at, for not all artists base their work on their views or values. Some artists draw abstract stuff because it looks really cool, and others draw a dot and say “This is an existential piece about the mundanity of existence and our ultimately solipsistic, empirical experience” and we respond, “Alright, John. I think it’s just a dot, but OK.”

When I have seen negative responses from fans of an artist like The Oatmeal, whose art is not often related to personal opinions and politics, the response seems to result from the unexpectedness of it, and I guess this makes some sense.

But I ask those that have this opinion: why? Why does the status of an artist, perhaps a landscape painter, or a digital fantasy artist or a jazz musician seem, to you, to dictate what they can or cannot make their art about?

Perhaps it comes from the notion that the artist creates for an audience, and should stick to what they typically create. But can artists not stray from the norm? Are you so upset that Mara deviated from painting a waterfall one day to make a piece that tells you that the government’s policies are harming her as a woman? Believe it or not, there are people behind the figures: human beings with a life to live, taxes to pay and the ambitions and fears their audience also possess.

This is, however, is not to suggest that we cannot critique artists for their politics. Celebrities like Mark Wahlberg have made great points about popular figures giving their opinions when they are “pretty out of touch with the common person, the everyday guy out there providing for their family”. Nor do I mean to imply you cannot disagree with what the artist is saying in their art; at some point, you have probably come across a message from an artist that seems utterly absurd to you.

Sometimes, you just really, really do not want to see more about politics. Right now it seems it is all there is, and our means of escape is to look at content that distracts us from very distressing topics. Of course that is OK, and it makes sense for you to want to do that. By all means, have some space from it.

But that is not the issue I am referring to. My issue comes from the people that seem to have the impression that an artist cannot use their platform to discuss their political opinions, or that they should not stray from their typical content. Maybe my analysis is wrong, and there are other reasons as to why people do not like politics blending in with their content creators, but I think the attitude that artists should be free from providing political commentary is limiting and inconsiderate.

Again, by all means, criticize or disagree with their opinion; for perhaps it is a prejudiced opinion. Some think that transgender people should not be able to use the bathroom of their gender identity. Views like this, based on bigotry, are bad opinions, and are incredibly damaging to marginalized persons which Donald Trump has recently rekindled (F*ck you, Donnie T.).

But consider why you do not like them expressing their views: is it because they conflict with yours? If that affects your enjoyment of their content, maybe it is time you found another artist to follow, because aligning with a figure that shares your values is sensible. Or maybe you just need a break from politics and do not want to see that sort of content right now - that, too, makes a lot of sense! But just remember that artists, like us, need to express themselves sometimes. We need to give them the space to do that.