A Scottish women’s charity said Carpenter’s new album cover evokes “tired tropes” of women being “possessions,” while fans have defended her cover as satirical commentary on sexism.
That’s fair. But art still falls into politically useful, politically useless, and politically harmful categories. I’m going to prefer the useful and I’m going to tell people to make more of the useful and less of the useless, while actively trying to prevent the harmful.
With that said. I’m not going to say something useless but entirely unrelated to politics should stop. Just that people making political art could do so in a different and more useful way.
L’art pour l’art arose out of 19th century France when the French bourgeoisie finally controlled the entirety of French society. Art being done for its own sake or being done as a form of self expression arose out of capitalist society. This was 100% not true in feudal society where artists weren’t expected to even credit themselves. Various socialist art movements like socialist realism also eschews l’art pour l’art for its literal bourgeois origins.
The idea of some dirt-poor artist channeling their mental illness to produce sublime art is just some stereotype that arose out of capitalist society.
When I make paintings that nobody but me will see or write poems that nobody will read because I enjoy the process and creating art, I’m doing a liberalism? Lol
I think there are many ways to approach art, but “art for art’s sake” shouldn’t be seen as a model. If anything, it should be treated somewhat dismissively.
I don’t think I even like the initial premise that it’s art’s job to be “materially useful”
That’s fair. But art still falls into politically useful, politically useless, and politically harmful categories. I’m going to prefer the useful and I’m going to tell people to make more of the useful and less of the useless, while actively trying to prevent the harmful.
With that said. I’m not going to say something useless but entirely unrelated to politics should stop. Just that people making political art could do so in a different and more useful way.
L’art pour l’art arose out of 19th century France when the French bourgeoisie finally controlled the entirety of French society. Art being done for its own sake or being done as a form of self expression arose out of capitalist society. This was 100% not true in feudal society where artists weren’t expected to even credit themselves. Various socialist art movements like socialist realism also eschews l’art pour l’art for its literal bourgeois origins.
The idea of some dirt-poor artist channeling their mental illness to produce sublime art is just some stereotype that arose out of capitalist society.
I thought this instrumental funk album I put on was neat, dismayed to learn it’s actually bourgeois decadence.
So we’re not allowed to do art for art’s sake?
When I make paintings that nobody but me will see or write poems that nobody will read because I enjoy the process and creating art, I’m doing a liberalism? Lol
I think there are many ways to approach art, but “art for art’s sake” shouldn’t be seen as a model. If anything, it should be treated somewhat dismissively.