underorange:
jimintomystery:
I’ve had this rant building for a while, so here goes.I have no use...
I’ve had this rant building for a while, so here goes.
I have no use for works that must depict increasing cruelty to hold an
audience’s attention. If all you have to say about suffering is “can you
top this?” I am not impressed. And I resent the implication that this makes me too weak-willed or emotionally involved to properly form an opinion.There is a fine line between doing something brilliant that generates controversy, and generating a controversy in the hope of appearing brilliant. The former should not be used to make excuses for the latter. The mere act of pushing the envelope does not, in and of itself, result in an artistic triumph above criticism. Indeed, the point of pushing the envelope would seem to be to risk failure, incite emotions, and invite criticism. If you poke the bear, you don’t get to whine that the bear is taking it too personally, or that the bear should wait and see where you’re going with this.
It’s a free society and stuff, so I’m not gonna tell anyone they can’t wallow in their sadism or creepy shit. But people who do that crap don’t get a free pass, that says it’s ~*~art~*~ so nobody can say anything bad. Art is supposed to pull you in and tell you something. If a work tells me “this artist is just trying to fuck with people,” it’s not my job to apologize and learn to enjoy that.
well said.
