By Banishing the Work of Great Artists We Are Punishing Everyone

The New York Post (full piece published in Harper's Magazine Feb, 2019) ^ | 01/19/19 | Lionel Shriver

[jocon307]

I have a new fear. And this one’s a doozy.

Having weathered more than one social-­media s- -t storm, I’m one column away from the round of mob opprobrium that sinks my career for good. A single unacceptable sentiment, a word usage misconstrued, a sentence taken out of context suffices these days to implode a reputation decades in the making and to trigger ­McCarthyite blacklisting.

But that isn’t the fear in its entirety. Suppose a perceived violation of progressive orthodoxy translates into the kind of institutional cowardice on display in the forced resignation of Ian Buruma from The New York Review of Books. Amazon, Barnes & Noble, my literary agent and ­my publisher would decide they could no longer afford association with a pariah. My current manuscript wouldn’t see print, nor would any future projects I’m foolish enough to bother to bash out. Yet what I most dread about this bleak scenario is my 13 published titles suddenly becoming unavailable — both online and in shops.

Because that’s the direction we’re traveling in. For reasons that escape me, artists’ misbehavior now contaminates the fruits of their labors, like the sins of the father being visited upon the sons. So it’s not enough to punish transgressors merely by cutting off the source of their livelihoods, turning them into social outcasts, and truncating their professional futures. You have to destroy their pasts. Having discovered the worst about your fallen idols, you’re duty-­bound to demolish the best about them as well.

[jocon307]

A most excellent piece, it says something that needs to be said. We are letting crazy people run the world and that needs to stop.

[simpson96]

“...it’s not enough to punish transgressors merely by cutting off the source of their livelihoods, turning them into social outcasts, and truncating their professional futures. You have to destroy their pasts. Having discovered the worst about your fallen idols, you’re duty-­bound to demolish the best about them as well.”

There are millions in this generation of snowflakes who would fit right in with the Hitler Youth.

[Lurkinanloomin]

So it’s not enough to punish transgressors merely by cutting off the source of their livelihoods, turning them into social outcasts, and truncating their professional futures. You have to destroy their pasts. Having discovered the worst about your fallen idols, you’re duty-­bound to demolish the best about them as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Orwell tried to warn us.

The left took his warnings as an instruction manual.

[PghBaldy]

They will move on to extermination of the offenders if they ever get complete power here. They are monsters.

[lee martell]

Well you can say ‘Sayonara’ to Hieronymous Bosch and his triptych called Garden of Earthly Delights.
Or Edouard Manet and his portrayal of Olympia, a nude woman reclining on a divan.
Don’t even bring up most paintings by William DeKooning.

[FrogMom]

So we’ve got an artist afraid to step on his ... er ... tongue and lose all of his credibility in the world.

So, how does he feel about the Republican Congressman who was accused of making passes at Pages and completely destroyed. Even though the Pages were over 21?

If he’s going to rail, he needs to rail at ANY reputation destruction.

And Roman Pulanski? He destroyed his OWN reputation!

[Fledermaus]

McCarthy was right though.

[jocon307]

“They are monsters.”

They really are.

[jocon307]

“Don’t even bring up most paintings by William DeKooning.”

A notorious woman-hater, I do know that about him. (Not a fan of his either.) But wasn’t he a left in good standing? That might protect his work for a little while. Just a little.

[SunkenCiv]

Sure, and the bans have been going on for a number of years now — did the author of this POS complain even once about any of those purges? Didn’t think so.

**** Ian Buruma and Lionel Shriver.

http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/ianburuma/index

[lee martell]

Much of DeKooning’s work featured portraits of women in the Abstract Expressionist style. Personally, I didn’t like most of what I saw; a very raw, very violent interpretation of what Women brought to his mind.

I’m fine with most abstract art per se, as with Picasso and Braque, but there was something about DeKoonings work that I preferred to stay away from. To each his own. His career was long, as he remained active after the onset of his dementia.

[Flintlock]

What a colossal opportunity for a NEW publisher, or publicist—or a new publication.

Print them all, publish them all in a collection.

Call it “THE DEPLORABLES”!

[Fiji Hill]

A single unacceptable sentiment, a word usage misconstrued, a sentence taken out of context suffices these days to implode a reputation decades in the making and to trigger ­McCarthyite blacklisting.

McCarthy didn't blacklist anyone.