the job of an artist

In a discussion with Paul Holdengraber on the Library Talks podcast, Junot Diaz dives into how he defines his role as an artist in society:

I feel like my job as an artist is to make people more critical minded about even the thing I’m asking them to be in conversation with…If someone resists my work, then I’ve done my job.

Diaz goes on to describe the way so many of us are so quick to give authority to those who try to assume power. “It’d be nice if we were a little hard to seduce,” he says.