BLOG 01 : Is it right to judge an artist's work based on their actions? | Alyssa

Is it Right to Judge an Artist's Work Based on their Actions?

Supporting art, whether it be music, artwork, or movies, supports those who create it. But what happens when those creators are no longer supported for the right reasons? Is it right to separate their work from their actions?

Popularity can either be for the best, or for the worst. For some people, their view and opinion on a work of art relies on their standing in society. In order to like a piece of artwork, they must be well liked. And for some artists, liking their work can seem wrong because of actions they have done, or have done after. Then, a difficult question is asked, “Since this artist had done something terrible years later of what they created, would it still be okay to like what they made?”. Of course, this can apply to any form of works, not just art. My argument is you can choose to disapprove and not support the actions of an artist while still enjoying their works. In particular, one artist and artwork had stuck with me since I had discovered it and matches perfectly with this prompt.

I have discussed this topic with my family before during dinners, and it is a difficult question to have an immediate answer to. A particular artist came up in my family’s discussion, Adolf Hitler. He is a perfect example of the complexity this question of if supporting an artist’s work is wrong due to their actions. Hiter, who has done absolutely terrible actions, was a pretty good painter and had an overall eye for art. He had made hundreds of paintings within his time, his focus being mostly landscapes and architecture, as stated in Art in Context (artincontext). Some of his paintings had a more religious turn as well, but it wasn’t as common. The composition of the artwork is truly stunning, but is it wrong to like it? I do not excuse anything Hitler has done at all, but I don’t believe his actions should be tied to his works, and due to the terrible things hes done have others reject his artwork. He had created beautiful pieces, most made before the holocaust. According to Daily Art Magazine, Even professors had recommended Hitler to focus on his ability to create architectural works (Abreeza Thomas). To me, refusing to acknowledge pieces of work and completely overlook its worth just because of the artist is wrong.

To continue on, another prime example is surprisingly the famous artist Pablo Picasso. Picasso, who took somewhat intense actions to artwork depicting a past wife after he would remarry, is an amazing artist but with a strange dark side. He is a strange case, considering his actions aren't the factor that made him well-known, it was his artwork. Picasso had a hidden surface, as mentioned in Independent.ie, he had a lesser opinion about his female muses, objectifying them and using lawyers to silence female artists (Sioban Hegarty). According to post by an art historian on Unherd, Picasso's wives were one key component of inspiration in some of his famous portraits, but after remarrying he would continue to make money off of the past wives' idea (Ruth Millington). Though, despite all of this, his work is seen as amazing and idealized, which I don't believe is exactly wrong. Just like I mentioned before, his actions don't reflect the quality or sheer genius that was put into his work. Of course, Pablo Picasso is quite different from other controversial artists, because of his artwork coming first in what he is known for.

This argument isn't an easy one and there really isn't one right answer. Though, I still think that liking a piece of work for what it is while not supporting the person is possible. Liking how a painting looks or how a song sounds without having the same opinion as someone is possible. Its just like political opinions in a way, you could have a friend who is extremely talented in something, but supporting the opposite political party doesn't make their talent worth any less. In conclusion, there isn't really any way to conclude this, this prompt isn't an easy one and leaves room for a lot of interpretations and other arguments. Its something that still can be discussed and ever changing.

Works Cited:

artincontext. "Hitler Paintings - looking at the at the Paintings by Hitler, the Infamous Dictator", Artincontext.org, 2022. https://artincontext.org/hitler-paintings/

Thomas, Abreeza. "The Art of Adolf Hitler: Idyllic Paintings of a Monster", dailyartmagazine, 2020 https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/art-hitler/

Hegarty, Siobhan. "A Dark Side Painted by Picasso's Women", Independent, 2007. https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/a-dark-side-painted-by-picassos-women-26326343.html

Millington, Ruth. "How Pablo Picasso Abused his Muses", unherd, 2022, https://unherd.com/2022/03/how-pablo-picasso-abused-his-muses/