part three — a few references.
in discussing the cultural responsibility of the artist, i want to first look into the question based on some thoughts, hereby beginning to look to history as a ground to answer this complex question. in finding, do we even know what we are looking at? and is that even important? to begin to understand the artists responsibility, we must also look to the responsibility of society. critical thinking comes to mind. there seems to be a push of complacency and acceptance taking the place of thought in our mass culture. to really understand the issues at hand, we must stay informed on the issues. this is only the beginning.
… art, in our society, has been so perverted that not only has bad art come to be considered good, but even the very perception of what art really is has been lost. in order to be able to speak about the art of our society, it is, therefore, first of all necessary to distinguish art from counterfeit art.
… there is one indubitable indication distinguishing real art from its counterfeit, namely, the infectiousness of art. if a man, without exercising effort and without altering his standpoint on reading, hearing, or seeing another man’s work, experiences a mental condition which unites him with that man and with other people who also partake of that work of art, then the object evoking that condition is a work of art. and however poetical, realistic, effectual, or interesting a work may be, it is not a work of art if it does not evoke that feeling (quite distinct from all other feelings) of joy and of spiritual union with another (the author) and with others (those who are also infected by it).
–excerpt from essay what is art? by tolstoy, 1896.
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