Up until I entered Art College in 1970, I labored under the discarded but quaint notion that the purpose of creating art and music was to create beauty, inspire people, and even to stimulate thinking and discussion.
I was quickly disabused of this avuncular “nonsense” and lectured about dissonance and ugliness for its own sake.
I realize now that this was preparation to prepare our culture to accept mediocrity and propaganda as the norm.
The messianic image of obama that was peddled as “high Art” which echoed the Socialist realism of the Stalin Era is a perfect illustration of the elevation of mediocrity in service to the State.
The Coarsening of Our Civilization, evidenced by high-tech filth that passes for movies, debased language, pop music that is devoid of melody and looped around one electronic measure, the sexual exploitation of children, and “political correctness” are all symptoms of a deeper sickness which has infected all aspects of our culture.
Maybe I am just an old crank, but I have a hard time finding any contemporary art, music, or literature that will be taken seriously one hundred years from now.
Just my opinion.
ping
Response: Agreed, and the root cause is egalitarianism which intuitively seeks the lowest level.
” The Coarsening of Our Civilization, evidenced by high-tech filth that passes for movies, debased language, pop music that is devoid of melody and looped around one electronic measure, the sexual exploitation of children, and political correctness are all symptoms of a deeper sickness which has infected all aspects of our culture.”
You’ve got it, its called evil.
***and lectured about dissonance and ugliness for its own sake.***
Same here. Many of us did not like the crap we were being taught. We wanted to learn to draw, and paint, not crap about the beauty of twisted metal. I was working days in a steel shop and saw lots of twisted metal and it was NOT ART.
I eventually had to teach myself.
That's definitely true of contemporary (or popular) 'art'.
I tell my kids all the time that their generation has been robbed of the fruits of real artists, and that in thirty years time, few will glorify or remember much of anything from their era.
Oddly enough, they agree with me.