‘We all wish art could counter the direction of US politics,’ says Steve Reich, ‘but it can’t’
The Guardian – March 2025 – Interview Steve Reich: ‘We all wish art could counter the direction of US politics. But it can’t’
As told to Dave Simpson
Image: Reich in New York City in 2005
Photograph: Jeffrey Herman
[When asked:] Can art play any meaningful role in countering the recent direction of US politics? Armhole
We all wish it could, but it can’t. I have a favourite example. One of Picasso’s greatest works, Guernica, was made shortly after the bombing of the town of Guernica in Spain by Franco, the fascist dictator and friend of Hitler’s. Picasso read about it and created this antiwar masterpiece from the images in his head. Afterwards, we had the bombing of Dresden, Nagasaki, Hiroshima and then 9/11. So if that scale of greatness can have no effect whatsoever, we need to realise the limitations of art and music.
