should the artist hold a mirror up to the world

well - this is certainly an interesting question -

first of all - is there anything that the artist should and shouldn't do -

but from another perspective -

I believe that that type of question needs to be answered by each individual artist by him or herself -

after they each ask themselves the question -

does holding up a mirror to the world help me accomplish anything in the way of what I would like to accomplish with my art if indeed there is anything that the particular artist asking the question of themselves actually wants to accomplish -

(and this of course will vary from artist to artist depending on their own individual perspective) -

and then in what way or manner of doing things will I be able to accomplish such a task - such a requirement or should or shouldn't need not be placed on any artist's psyche -

while living in this world may in some cases automatically induce the artist in some way to do just what the question poses -

to hold up a mirror to the world -

in which case -

with each individual artist and each individual work of art -

I would have to question --

just which part of the world and in which direction is that mirror - or perhaps group of mirrors pointing -

because -

remember

each individual subject that a mirror may be used to point something at has an infinite number of directions that these mirrors may be pointing towards -

so the question not only asks for an answer of course

but then in a sense leaves many other questions thereafter to be answered -