Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma

by Claire Dederer

The brilliant critic/poet Hanif Abdurraqib (writing about Kanye West) makes a case for uncoupling our personal memories from the artists who seem to define them: “I think the political responsibility of the fan is to challenge that memory—challenge the desire for nostalgia and, in doing that, challenge the soundtracks that have latched onto this nostalgia.” Abdurraqib is making a case for forgetting—or for letting go of the kind of amber-hued memory that seeks to hold everything just so, static, in place. This is, perhaps, as Abdurraqib says, a political responsibility—but it’s not necessarily a responsibility we can fulfill, in the moment, when Michael Jackson comes floating across the air.

Consuming a piece of art is two biographies meeting: the biography of the artist that might disrupt the viewing of the art; the biography of the audience member that might shape the viewing of the art. This occurs in every case.