Essays On Air

Ben Quilty, Life vest, Lesbos. 2016, oil on polyester, 60 x 50cm Australian War Memorial Before the early 19th century, war was commonly depicted as a heroic venture, while death was both noble and surprisingly bloodless. Then came Goya with his collection of etchings called Disasters of War to show the full horror of what Napoleon inflicted on Spain, during the Peninsular War from 1808 to 1814. The art showed, for the first time, the suffering of individuals in the face of military power. On today’s episode of Essays on Air - the audio version of The Conversation’s Friday essay series - Conversation intern Sybilla Gross is reading my essay on the transformational power of art in our collective social conscience. Through countless wars and humanitarian crises, art has always depicted the crimes of our times. Putting aside whether or not art can actually change the world, there is always an important message it conveys - should we choose to listen. Maybe, that is all we can ask of it. Today’s episode wa