Artists have always had to contend with sanctimony. This is only a problem because art can be kept out of the mainstream. It can be hidden from view. Art unseen is no different than never made.
I can see and hear whatever I imagine. I cannot show it unless I turn it into art. There is no point in making art if never allowed to show it, since I can imagine whatever I imagine without it.
The sanctimonious have always been dubious of anything sexual, religious or political. The sanctimony is inconsistent, however. What is perverted, blasphemous or subversive at one time or in one region may be wholesome, reverent and progressive in another.
Many artists aggravate the problem. They offend deliberately. Their art is insulting rather than inspiring. They turn the tide of the mainstream against freedom of expression.
As an artist, I imagine. I show what I imagine by writing it as words and rendering it as images. My themes are sexual because sexuality energizes my fantasies. They are religious because my belief that life is meaningful beyond the sum of its parts inspires me. They are political because art is social if shared and politics shapes society.
As an artist, my art is tasteful, secular and apolitical.
The erotica is artful rather than vulgar. The spirituality is demonstrated
rather than preached. The politics are nuanced rather than touted. Though I
understand tact allows me into the mainstream, I have a better reason: I would
rather inspire than offend.
There are still some places in the world and on the internet where free speech still exists. The sad thing is that it should exist everywhere.
ReplyDeleteExactly. There is nothing Godly in limiting our thoughts and feelings to the whims and agendas of sinners.
DeleteAmong the most precious freedoms is that of expression. We imagine better and can communicate it through art. It is not important to agree, so long as we do not stifle creativity.
ReplyDeleteIndeed. To stop flow is to create stagnation. Even what is good shall turn bad.
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