The Art of the Matter

There are three letters when put together make a little word that may spark more debate than perhaps any other word.  ART.  Art has been debated for centuries and is a world full of endless opinion and incessant arguing.  What is Art?  It could mean different things to different people.  According to AI, "art is the conscious use of skill, imagination, and creativity to produce works—ranging from painting and sculpture to music and literature—that evoke emotion, convey ideas, or explore aesthetic beauty. It serves as a form of human expression and communication, often transcending language to create meaning and shared experiences."  I think that about covers it!

Oscar Wilde was a proponent of the aesthetic art movement.  This movement set out to free art from the responsibility of having a moral message.  This movement coined the phrase, "art for art's sake".  They believed that art was for beauty alone and that it had no other purpose, therefore it was useless.  Were they right?  Well, art certainly can be beautiful, but I'm not sure anyone can escape its ability to evoke emotion!  Art is a universal language that is felt across all divides.  It makes us feel something whether we want to or not.  

In the preface of The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde writes a collection of 14 statements that defend aestheticism.  He argues that art's only purpose is beauty, not morality.  Wilde explicitly states that "all art is quite useless".  He adds that the artist's goal is to reveal art while concealing themselves.  The artist is the creator of beautiful things with no ethical sympathies.  Aestheticism believed that finding ugly meanings in beautiful things was a fault.  "There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book; books are well-written or badly written". -Oscar Wilde

The Picture of Dorian Gray might just be one of my favorite books.  It is a very important moral story. It's interesting that Wilde included such a defense of aestheticism at the beginning of such a story that seems to wildly contradict his stance.....Unless he meant to do that??  Perhaps he did; no one really knows for sure.  After the book was published, Wilde did admit that the book itself contradicted his preface and stance on aestheticism.  I personally believe that he unknowingly contradicted himself.  He clearly wrote 2 characters that were opposites on the art movement.  The character Henry Wotton is an aestheticist.  He believes that art is for beauty only.  He is indulgent.  He is all about having fun, enjoying life, and without scruples.  He enjoys toying with his friends for his amusement, and he loves a good scandal.  Basil Halward is the artist who worries that his art shows too much of himself and his feelings.  He is a good person, a moral character, emotional, sensitive, and is probably the main hero of the story.  These two men have the most influence over Dorian Gray.  

The character who wields the strongest influence over Dorian Gray is Henry Wotton.  Henry leads Dorian down a dark path of sin, crime, selfishness, and narcissism. The famous painting in the book is of Dorian Gray.  Dorian is the most beautiful person anyone has ever seen.  In the beginning, Dorian is humble, unselfish, thoughtful and kind.  While under the influence of Henry, he becomes the opposite of those things and ultimately uses his beauty to use others for his own gain.  In the end Dorian commits the greatest of all sins; he kills Basil Halward in a fit of rage as Basil begs Dorian to repent of all of his sins. 

Basil's famous painting of Dorian has a profound and very moral purpose in the book.  After the painting is cursed by Dorian when he realizes that he will age while the painting will remain beautiful forever, the painting takes on Dorian's aging. The painting also takes on the ugliness of his soul as he descends into sin.  While Dorian spirals in his never-ending sins and crimes he remains young and beautiful and the public turns the other cheek.  While the public is aware of his sins, they still think highly of him only because he is beautiful.  The story is a deep warning about beauty as a positive bias.  So, if the only purpose for art is beauty, then Wilde is not making an attractive case for that line of thinking. For Wilde being such a proponent for the aesthetic art movement, the painting in the book has a very important moral purpose.  The painting takes on the degradation of Dorian's soul as well as his aging.  The picture of Dorian becomes marred, and distorted, even unrecognizable.  When Dorian commits the ultimate sin, it's as if the painting bestows upon him his age and distorted soul, giving it back to him.  This switching back between Dorian and the painting leads to Dorian's demise.  Hmm.....So, it's as if Oscar Wilde teaches us about how art itself can be profoundly moral, beautiful, and ugly, and have a deeper purpose than just beauty.  It seems that he was warning against the focus on pure beauty and how this focus could turn ugly.  

Just the other day something surfaced from a few months ago involving comments made by actor Timothee Chalamet.  

"I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera, or things where it’s like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive, even though no one cares about this anymore.’ All respect to the ballet and opera people out there … I just lost 14 cents in viewership....Damn I took shots for no reason”.

As always there are many voices out there commenting and giving their opinions.  Some might be screaming saying this is controlled distraction.  That he meant to say it because he was paid to create distraction.....Or there are people conspiring to use this as a distraction.....Or there are those screaming this was a smart comment because there is no such thing as bad publicity.  I don't think everything under the sun is controlled distraction.  I don't think everything out there is used as distraction.....AND sometimes people just say stupid things!  Sometimes people say things they regret and sometimes people say things that cause them problems.  I do think this will cost Timothee Chalamet more than a 14 cent loss in viewership. For those who don't think he was being insulting, he views the amount of people who value these art forms as only worth 14 cents to him. He was absolutely 100% being insulting and on purpose!  Opera houses and Ballet productions started advertising discount codes "Timothee" and "Chalamet" for 14% off tickets.  I love people!  Right after the resurfacing of the insult, Jeopardy aired their show with a category specifically for ballet and opera. Clips of it circulated the internet with the contestants answering each question without hesitation.  Many famous actors, and celebrities criticized Chalamet for his comments.  News articles reported that his mother, sister, and grandmother were all ballerinas who performed with the New York City Ballet.  How utterly ironic!  The response has been swift and blunt!  

There are those out there screaming that the outrage is fake!  They are calling for the receipts of anyone who is critical of the comment.  "When was the last time you went the ballet or opera?"  I don't think art requires us to be experts in it in order to enjoy, comment, or have an opinion on it.  I guess no one is allowed to comment unless they are a connoisseur of the art form and know everything about it!  To a Blaze article that seemed to agree with Chalamet, I wrote:  

"An unfair assessment.  I don't think you are taking into consideration all those who teach ballet and opera, and the parents who pay for their kids to learn, as well as people supporting their local theaters, ballets, and operas.  You're only looking at one part of it and saying, 'it's dying'.  I was in a ballet at Christmas time because I pay for my son to learn ballet.  I'm not a ballet dancer, but I support wherever, whenever, and however I can.  There were probably 6 ballets at Christmas time in my area put on by non-profit organizations so people of all ages can get more stage experience."

Someone replied to me saying I was a clown and what I was saying did not matter because ballet and opera are not mainstream. This person also suggested that I had no credibility because I did not know every ballet ever performed. Hmm.....so, how exactly did ballet and opera survive for so long?  If there weren't teachers willing to teach and parents willing to pay money for their kids to learn, would we have ballet and opera today?  I'm sure all of the dancers and parents out there would beg to differ.  No matter how small the productions are, they matter.  Not all of the kids who learn will become professionals in the art, but the influence on their lives is priceless.  My point was that even though it isn't mainstream, it does not mean it's dying or that no one cares. Ballet and Opera have survived for over 500 years, and I think it will still be here after we are all gone.  Ballet and Opera have probably not been mainstream for over 200 years, and yet it's still here.  That is an amazing achievement!  No other current, popular art form can say that.  That merits some respect even if you dislike the art form.  Ballet and Opera have survived and overcome totalitarianism, world wars, revolutions, and several enlightenments.  They can certainly survive the dumbing down of this generation and others after it.  They can survive Timothee Chalamet and others like him.  They can survive all of the criticisms out there because they already have.  They have survived through the evolution of dance and music with the rise of the new.  It's incredible that they are still here and continue to be loved, learned, and enjoyed by many.  It's amazing how they have stood the test of time!  Maybe that's why we refer to them as Classic!  Classic is never a bad thing.  It means it has lasted!

Another answer to the "where's your receipts? When have you been to the ballet or opera last....question. I think this is kind of a ridiculous thing to say because I think many more people would go if they could afford it. Ticket sales do not necessarily reflect interest. Live performances are expensive. I have to plan a year ahead if I want to go Hale Center Theater with my family to see a play. I wanted to go to Ballet West at Christmas, but the cheapest seats available when I looked were $115......Oh, and they were nearly sold out! I didn't have $400+ to drop on a ballet around Christmas time. Maybe next year I will plan so we can go. I think the interest in going is higher than what is reflected by ticket sales.

Ballet has given rise to all other dance forms and/or
has influenced all other dance forms in the western world.  Someone replied to me when I said this on another post and they thought they were outsmarting me.  They pointed out that Tap dance is unique to America and did not come from ballet.  This is true.  Many dance forms directly evolved from ballet, like jazz and contemporary, but some forms like tap and hip hop developed on their own.  Here's the reason ballet is still important in those other dance forms.  Ballet is the mother of all technique.  Without that, other dance forms might not be as they are or might not exist.  Ballet is not just an art form, it's a technical skill that can improve balance, flexibility, coordination, and athleticism in general.  Show me a tap dancer, hip hop dancer, football player, hockey player, or any athlete that would not be bettered by doing ballet!  Why is ballet used to supplement athletes in football, hockey, and other sports?  Because it's a technical skill in the movement of the body.  So, even if other forms of dance did not directly rise from ballet, they were influenced by it still. People seem to forget that.

While the banana stuck to a wall might sell for $6.24 million right now, I highly doubt it will be a foundational piece to the rest of the art world that will last over 500 years and inspire countless forms and variations of art, but maybe it will; who am I to say? It's okay to say you don't like the foundational art forms but it's quite a brazen thing to criticize them especially since they have survived for over 500 years! Show me someone who sculpts like Michaelangelo.......Giovanni Strazza in 1818, that's who sculpted the veiled virgin. Michaelangelo's pieces are foundational to that form of art and are about the same age as ballet. Is it dying? If it's not so popular that must mean there are few trying to keep it alive when no one cares??? I don't think you could say "no one cares" about any form of art! Michaelangelo's works just sit in famous museums and cathedrals that are visited by millions of people a year and are considered invaluable to the art world. His pieces that have sold at auction have sold for over $27 Million. Let's not forget all of the replicas that have been made and sold of Michaelangelo's works; AI could not give me a number as to what that would be worth.

The art piece called Comedian is a banana duct taped to a white wall.  It recently sold for over $6 Million.   If you think this art piece is absurd, or it's absurd that it sold for over $6 Million, then you would be in agreement with the artist.  I found this very interesting.  "The banana taped to a wall is a conceptual artwork by Maurizio Cattelan that critiques the symbolic, cultural, and economic value of objects in the art world. It challenges viewers to reflect on the nature of art and its commodification, questioning the very system that produces such works. Additionally, the banana's impermanence, as it shrivels and decays, symbolizes the beauty of transience. The piece gained notoriety when it sold for $120,000, highlighting the absurdity and commentary on modern art."

Music has always been a huge part of my life.  Music saved me from a lot of anger, and a lot of sorrow.  Art in general has always been a love of mine.  If I ever thought I could make any money at it, I would have been a singer or professional musician.  The art world is full of so much talent that it's a tough business to make money in.  It's always been a hard career and very competitive.  Among all of the biology, chemistry, math, and criminal justice classes that filled my life during college, I found myself in love with Art 101.  This was without a doubt one of my favorite classes.  We learned the history of art and the different styles of painting.  I love art museums because of that class and teacher!  

I would say there are forms of art I don't care about, but I also realize that just because I don't care about
them it does not mean that there aren't others who do.  Rap is not my favorite.....I don't like it at all, but I can appreciate it for what it is.  Often times it's the lyrics I don't appreciate.  Rap is notorious for vulgarity, depravity, and degrading lyrics about women.  I can appreciate the form of music and the talent it takes to write good lyrics and the talent it takes to be a rapper.  There will always be critics of art, but I wish more people could let things exist as they are.  I hope people can recognize art as it is and let it be even if we disagree with it or don't like it.  All art has a place or purpose.  We all have the choice in which art we view, admire, learn, or give money to.  Appreciation for art's place in society and history and recognizing its invaluable influence on society seems to take some talent, or some thought on a deeper level.  

Art is what makes life interesting, meaningful, purposeful, and enjoyable.  Art is at the heart of the matter!  It most often times is!  I never thought it was coincidence that the word art is contained within the word heart.  Maybe that has some Divine meaning or is purposeful.  I think it is profound.