Posted on 04/21/2011 8:41:13 AM PDT by Paladins Prayer
American Thinker's Rick Moran recently wrote a blog piece about the destruction of Andres Serrano's creations, excreta that some euphemistically refer to as art. Rick opened by saying that his topic would make for lively debate among commenters, and he was right. And it has also provoked a lively response from me.
In his piece, Rick states, "Art, as we learned when growing up, is in the eye of the beholder." Yes, most of us did learn this growing up -- and we learned wrong. That is to say, unless "art" doesn't really exist.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
But if you deny that there is such a thing as good and bad (non-) art, you can deny there are good and bad acts.
And on a related point, liberalism teaches not to be judgemental about anything. Liberalism teaches that the artist was making an artistic statement, no matter how patently offensive it is to show a crucifix in urine.
So rather than being outraged that someone would put a crucifix in urine, we’re supposed to search for the “larger meaning” and all that, of the artistic statement made by putting a crucifix in urine.
Submerging the crucifix in urine? Art.
Splattering dung across a painting of the Virgin Mary? Art.
Burning the Bible? Art.
Burn the Torah on Passover? Higher “Art.”
Display photographs of masturbation, sodomy, blatant pornography? (Very Highly Paid) Public “Art.”
DISCUSS burning the Koran? Illegal. Immoral. You will be threatened with death, if not be killed outright.
Liberals have the goal of communism, pure and simple.
Communist goals for America,
22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to “eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms.”
23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. “Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art.”
It used to be that in the sciences, we easily dealt with the UFO-ers, perpetual motion machine perps, rogue planet believers, etc.
However, it appears that even here, the libtards have metastasized.
The global warming types - knowing that their only source of income is govt grants - have done a great job of bringing down some of my cherished science to the level of a democrat.
Their “science” is now on the level of their “art”.
A jar of piss is not art. It is not an achievement of the human soul or a demonstration of man’s expressive capability. It takes no talent. I don’t understand how the man who pissed in a jar received tax dollars for the effort.
1) It elevates you and makes you long for something sweeter than this world. Mozart achieves this, as do many other artists.
2) It celebrates the animal nature of this world and encourages you to wallow in this world. Michael Jackson, and so many others, have made this kind of Art.
3) It promotes chaos and meaningless such that neither this world nor the next world have any meaning or relevance. Serrano achieves this goal. Much of Modern Art achieves this. It's not elevating, and it's not engaging or amusing. It's just crap that people call "Art".
Liberalisms “respect” for “the other point of view” has morphed from its Liberal (in the 17th - 18th century sense) tradition, from respect for the fact that one has a right to a different point of view, to absolute respect and acceptance of that different point of view, as if you should believe it is as “legitimate” as yours, and socially as acceptable as yours.
They have gone from Voltaire’s “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
To: “I will defend to the death your right to your opinion, and I will no longer disapprove of it.”
But, such a respect, acceptance and false legitimacy is nothing other than self-denial of the respect, and the social legitimacy your own well founded view deserves, in your own humble opinion. Liberals no longer believe that should be a true value seeking contest, that we should withdraw from the contest altogether.
Liberalism is on a suicidal mission in western societies, at the same time that all other societies are pushing the world to promote and advance their cultural and moral values. This is being led within the “Liberal” communities by Marxists, who must, everywhere they rise, destroy the foundations of any society they seek to rise over.
Liberals have the goal of reducing human beings to things, animals or machines. Take your pick.
You did not describe the art work, only the medium. Recall if you will that the work was a photograph of a urine filled jar with a Crucifix within.
The photo of the combination was deemed art because it conveyed a message. Many considered blasphemy while others considered the message to be the ultimate in liberal dissent against Christianity.
A similar message in rebuttal would be a photo of a bearded professor drug with a chain behind a battered pickup. That also would be art and deliver an anti academicprogressiveliberal message
Thus their embrace of atheism and evolution.
If I combine my post at #8 and yours at #9, I would say this:
1) Art can make you admire the Creator
2) Art can make you admire the Creation
3) Art can make you admire yourself.
I think they have now gone beyond even “I will defend to the death your right to your opinion, and I will no longer disapprove of it" to
“I will defend to the death your right to your opinion, and I recognize that my personal opinion isn't worth anything at all.”
And they perversely take great Pride in this humility. You see, I am so enlightened, I am so Modern, that I recognize that my opinion doesn't matter. Pretty slick of me, huh? Yes indeed, not many people are as sophisticated as I am. I can boldly state that my opinion is no better than yours. THAT'S how awesome I am.
I admire myself, because I refuse to say that crap is crap.
I find beauty in the destruction of this piece - whoever did it is truly an artist. How dare you critisize or prosecute an artist simply because you find his art offensive!
Nominalism vs. Realism rides again!
I disagree.
They have the very highest opinion of their own opinion. It's the opinion of "the other" (hicks, rednecks, bourgeois, middle class people, Americans, etc.) they despise.
In fact, the very highest compliment they can give each other (they think) is that a particular piece of art (or music, literature, etc.) is "transgressive," which means it offends the groups listed above.
But these folks are the antithesis of humility.
Overweening pride, is what this is.
However, they like to present this as:
"My culture? America? Phffrfth! What makes my culture so great??"
"White people? HA! Black people are better. I'm whitebread-- I ain't got Soul. At least I know it."
"Christian? Sure, I was raised Christian -- but aren't Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists just as good? Maybe better??"
They adopt false humility as a badge of honor. They take pride in their humility.
Their “self-hatred” is only a pose.
They very neatly get around it by separating themselves from the group they’re denigrating by the very fact of that denigration.
If I, as a white guy, run down white people, my doing so separates me from and raises me above “white people” as a group. So my white friends and I can continue to despise white people while thinking very highly indeed of ourselves.
And you’re quite right, our “disagreement” appears to be just semantics.
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