Should Art Pay the Price for its Artists?
Van Gogh was depressed and alone.
In his lifetime, he sold a few of his paintings for less than a fraction of the value they would fetch in the market today. His art, years later, speak to the nature of a troubled and sad man, who brought his pain out in brushstrokes that spoke to people decades later and still do, to this day.
Art outlives artists. Fascinating works of creation evolve and grow, often to absorb meaning that even their creator may have been unable to comprehend. A true work of art ages flawlessly and flies beyond through time to touch the spirits of those who witness it centuries later. Must then art be caged because it was made by flawed hands?
The Harry Potter books blew life into the imagination of multitudes of children worldwide. Every young mind dreamt of being a wizard, a witch, to fly, cast spells, and above all living in a world where fantasy roamed free and unbridled. The books drew upon and gave us some of the popular archetypes such as the brilliant and nerdy Hermione Granger, the courageous, formerly coward Neville Longbottom, and more. The worlds created by J.K Rowling sprawled entire franchises defining the lives of an entire cast of actors, fanfictions that rivalled the length of the original books, and detailed characters to extents the author had not intended for.
And then the author made comments that disparaged and hurt the transgender community. This was met with great backlash and people took their sides in the debate. But what ‘cancel culture’ dictated was ‘down with the artist, down with the art’. And thus arose an ongoing debate to this day over whether support of the Harry Potter books must continue or not.
Like all solutions that disguise themselves, the answer to whether art should suffer the consequences of problems that the artists create can be found outside the domain the question lies in. To be precise, the resolution to this debate can be found outside art.
Thomas Alva Edison, the man credited with over 300 patents and is the role model of curiosity that is preached in schools to this day, is far from perfect. In fact, the renowned inventor had a number of despicable acts under his belt, such as trying to demean Nikola Tesla’s invention of alternating current that would benefit everyone and electrocuting animals in public to achieve the same, which led to his eventual downfall. Of course, Edison is just one imperfect man in science, there are countless others yet still who have made remarkable strides in science and equally dreadful descents into inhumanity. Suddenly, the distinction that one applies to art but not science is evident.
Brilliant works of science are not abandoned but are given their due credit in helping the human race make progress in the world of scientific discovery. But the question arises solely when art is brought to the forefront, even though the works of art themselves can inspire a renaissance in the medium they are created and sprout unique branches hitherto unheard of.
To compensate for the lack of an example other than the Harry Potter books, Stanley Kubrick is notable in this field. The director was gruelling in the method by which he obtained his visceral films, irritating actors, giving some mental issues, and overall, being a terrible person. At the same time, Kubrick directed impactful films about the fallout of nuclear war, groundbreaking visuals like 2001: A Space Oddysey, that later on inspired, one could argue, the creations of the entire space sci-fi film domain, Interstellar, Star Wars and so much more as many youngsters such as Christopher Reeves (Superman), George Lucas began to completely take in the power of film.
This culminates on two sides as it always does. The artist is flawed and imperfect. The art is flawless and graceful. Neither exists without the other. While one can tear apart the artist for their immoral nature, one cannot deny the untouchable beauty of the art created by the same. Thus, art is independent of the artist, and should not thus be forced to pay the price of its creator.
The problem and this topic stem from the fact that when works of art are created, artists are exalted in the same regard. They are raised up and considered in the same vein their art is, their thoughts on matters elicited, and their way of life scrutinized. The artist is considered a genius, and thus perfect in all manners of thought. Surely, they cannot err.
The average individual assumes by correlation that since the creation begs no imperfection, the creator does not by association. And when the curtain is pulled back, the audience is in shock and recoils at the true nature of the person they idealized. Then again, by correlation, they assume since the creator is imperfect, the creation must be discarded by association.
When artists are considered merely mortals who can make mistakes and be flawed, and the art they create lies independent of who they are, only then will our appreciation of our art exceed and our misguided impressions of the artist decrease. Artists must be held accountable just as every other person and their behaviour be awarded or punished as we would another individual. But the groundbreaking work they may have created and the influence that their works of art may have bred should be given due credit.
In conclusion, art lives a life separate from its artist and should be submitted to scrutiny only befitting of art, that seeks to explore it and draw its true nature out, that the human race can look at in awe and wonder. The creators of these works of art must be considered pioneers of their craft, as opposed to perfect thinkers and models of thought, which leads to a refined understanding of the distinction between what the human race is capable of making and what the human race is capable of being.
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