Art: Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is (Conservatives, This Mean You)

Enter Stage Right ^ | July 28, 2003 | Mathew Kay

[StatesEnemy]

Art is a hobby... get a real job. ;-)

[Commie Basher]

Art is a hobby... get a real job. ;-)

If that's your attitude, don't complain when the Left dominates popular culture. And don't complain when the voters, influenced by that culture, vote against your interests.

[goodnesswins]

Artists ARE supported by whomever wants to support them. I go to farmers markets and buy art....but, I don't go to hoity toity galleries and buy "art." I like my art realistic or useful, or something I can at least relate to.

[jammer]

Good reply.

[Nick5]

Who exactly portrays Beethoven as a narcissistic invalid? I think the universal love of Beethoven's music transcends political affiliation. I'd love to know where you get the idea that the left doesn't revere Beethoven. Look at Leonard Bernstein -- radical gay Jewish democrat, and one of the great interpreters of Beethoven of this or any other century. I think John Lennon's music has the same cross-political appeal.

It may surprise you to know that Oliver Stone -- as leftist a filmmaker as you will find -- has always wanted to make a movie out of the Fountainhead. I'm not sure why he hasn't been able to. I think because the vast public far prefers the buildings Howard Roark hated -- old fashioned and homey and traditional -- to the buildings Roark designed -- cold and hard and modern -- and so when he blows up the old fashioned version of his building at the end, the crowds would boo rather than cheer. Unfortunately, I think I'd be among them.

[gaijin]

The world of art is incredibly political; works needn't be merely good to be successful --they have to win sponsorship.

But we know how many publicists and art critics will risk their professional reputations by signing the praises of the works of the rightishly inclined, now don't we?

They'd be banished. They'd be out of their minds!

To turn the tables, look at the success of Mapenthorpe --the man pee'd into an acrylic cross, stuck a bullwhip up his posterior, and he was hailed as a great genius!

There's a small number who know the score, yes, but the great mass of money-having people will simply go ahead and like what they're told is cool to like, and the American clerisy tells them to like garbage.

So they do.

[gaijin]

Oliver Stone -- as leftist a filmmaker as you will find -- has always wanted to make a movie out of the Fountainhead

The book is epic, and begging to be made into a movie. Average people see movies, though --they don't read long books. But the book remains a threat to The Glorious March to Socialism. Why wouldn't the left co-opt the right, and make it into a LEFTISHLY inclined movie?

The left is disciplined and shrewd.

[Nick5]

It actually wouldn't be hard to cast Howard Roark as a leftist hero -- he's anti-establishment and anti-elite. He's a working class guy who goes up against the wealthy Peter Keating. And that would miss the whole point of the book. Interesting.

[Nick5]

Did you ever see the Gary Cooper version Fountainhead? It was hopelessly lame, and for reasons having nothing to do with politics. Sometimes a wooden movie is just a wooden movie.

[supercat]

It actually wouldn't be hard to cast Howard Roark as a leftist hero -- he's anti-establishment and anti-elite. He's a working class guy who goes up against the wealthy Peter Keating. And that would miss the whole point of the book. Interesting.

Have you seen the Gary Cooper film? I've not read the book, but saw the movie; I'm curious your reaction.

[TheSpottedOwl]

What money?

[gaijin]

I know what you mean.

It's a bit like how they titled leftist Bill Mahre's establishment-hailing show, "Policitally Incorrect".

That was very smart:

The power and insight behind the extremely handy term Politically Incorrect had to be blunted. The left got major airtime, and it left many average Joe's confused about what really is politically incorrect:

"Slamming people who dislike high taxes and foolish social programs is POLITICALLY INCORRECT...? Oh...I must be something ELSE..."

[supercat]

To turn the tables, look at the success of Mapenthorpe --the man pee'd into an acrylic cross, stuck a bullwhip up his posterior, and he was hailed as a great genius!

The crucifix was Andres Serrano. Point otherwise well-taken, though.

Your comment about "genius" reminds me of a movie scene in which one poker player is commenting to another how he's doing everything all wrong; the latter asks the former how come he (the latter) has a much bigger pile of money than the former. The former has no reply.

Whatever the merits of today's "modern artists", some of them sure do seem to have the money thing down pretty well.

[Nick5]

See post #10. You should really read the book. Sweeps you right along. A little melodramatic, but a great read. You'll feel like you've lived it when you're done. If the movie were made now, I'd cast Billy Crudup as Roark and Cameron Diaz as Dominique and Jonathan Lithgow as --forget the character's name -- the evil socialist art critic.

[supercat]

BTW, should I put in a plug for www.artrenewal.org?

[Nick5]

Just checked it out. That is one flipped out website. I think it's possible to criticize modern art -- it's important to criticize modern art -- without praising some of those terrible sappy paintings the website loves so much. There are enough great masterpieces of the past and present to go around.

[Gil4]

Art is a hobby... get a real job. ;-) /// If that's your attitude, don't complain when the Left dominates popular culture.

I'm not aware of a huge conservative outcry for more real art. I just want my tax money to stop funding bad art. Since there doesn't seen to be a way for the government to differentiate between good art and bad art (or if they can they prefer the bad), I would prefer that neither be funded with tax dollars.

Sorry I'm not overly sympathetic to the plight of conservative artists - I would prefer that they get a real job if they can't make a living with their art. I just would like to see the liberal artists/feak shows become starving artists too, rather than living off the public dime.

[Commie Basher]

Who exactly portrays Beethoven as a narcissistic invalid? I think the universal love of Beethoven's music transcends political affiliation. I'd love to know where you get the idea that the left doesn't revere Beethoven.

I don't get the idea from anywhere. I didn't write this article. I do, however, agree with the general idea that conservatives will do better in the culture war by funding their own arts infrastructure.

Regarding Beethovan, you'd have to take it up with the author.

Regarding narcissistic invalids, I think that would be a compliment coming from the Left. They always protray self-absorbed artists as heros.

[jennyp]

Just checked it out. That is one flipped out website. I think it's possible to criticize modern art -- it's important to criticize modern art -- without praising some of those terrible sappy paintings the website loves so much.

I just checked it out. I love Bouguereau's technique! However, when we bought our first true art piece, a signed print, we went for something with more social import: