Artists are going to be the metronome of this society.

By likening artists to a “metronome,” Ono suggests that art provides society with tempo, measure, and orientation—setting a beat against which collective life can be felt, tested, and adjusted. The image implies steadiness and insistence: artists keep time even when institutions drift, reminding the public of rhythm, proportion, and urgency. It also hints at leadership without direct governance: a metronome does not play the music, but it shapes how music is played. In this view, artists help calibrate cultural attention and moral sensitivity, marking when society is rushing, lagging, or out of sync with its own ideals.