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Is It True that “the Whole Point of Art Is to Be Provocative”
[The above quoted phrase came from Fred Cole’s post on “The Interview,” which is otherwise excellent.]
Isn’t that the stupid excuse that leftists use in producing bad (or good) art that is strictly political in nature?
The whole point of art is to express — to express one’s heart, an insight, an epiphany (especially) — and to create. The best use of art is to ennoble and to add to mankind’s collection of many and varied interpretations of what life on this earthly plane is.
If in the process of artistic expression the final result happens to provoke, then the modern thinking (sometimes rightly) advises that one proceed even against furious opposition. If there is a societal value around art I think that the ennobling impulse should be given precedence over simple provocation.
Can we drop all the left-wing perversions of our culture and our values. Art shouldn’t be used in a decent society to destroy, to wreck. If it is then it shouldn’t be supported simply because it’s art. This is nihilism.
Published in General
Re comment # 120
Just listened to Lux Aurumque for the first time. It’s beautiful. Listening to it is like ascending into heaven.
Re comment # 119 and 118
Jim Beck, The sculpture at the first link stays with you. I think I liked it less yesterday than the second one because I was sort of taken aback by it. It’s disturbing, somehow. Now I’m even more drawn to it than the other.(But both are beautiful.)
It’s an angel, isn’t it?
Afternoon Ansonia,
Boccioni was in a group called the futurists, they loved movement of the modern and mechanized world. I think the Unique Forms piece tries to capture human motion. The piece is about 4 feet high.
Another group similar to the Futurists was the Constructivists. Naum Gabo and Antoine Pevsner were brothers who are also my favorites, they were also working at the same time as Boccioni. Here are a couple of examples:http://www.tate.org.uk/art/images/work/T/T00/T00826_10.jpg, by Gabo, http://theredlist.com/media/database/fine_arts/sculpture/20_th_century/before_1945/abstract/antoine_pevsner/017-antoine-pevsner-theredlist.jpg
Glad you enjoyed it! As Fredö pointed out, it’s not the most sophisticated piece in the world – the style isn’t so hard to imitate – it’s thoroughly middlebrow music. But lovely middlebrow music.
The text-painting (writing music that fits the words) in “Lux Aurumque” is particularly felicitous – “calida gravisque” does feel warm and heavy.
re : comment 122
I like them a lot.
re : comment 123
Thanks, Midget Faded Rattlesnake.
Happy New Year to you both !
Very interesting discussion tacked on to the end of this. — sorry I missed it at the time.