Art and asceticism. The artist must be free, otherwise he will be dominated by his material instead of dominating it. Hence, art demands asceticism. Religious ascetics have something to learn from the natural asceticism of the artist: it is un-selfcon-scious, organic, integrated in his art. It does not run the risk of becoming an end in itself. But the artist also has something to gain from religious asceticism. It not only raises him above his subject and his material but above his art itself. He can now control everything, even his art, which usually controls him. Asceticism may involve a
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