Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Feminism: chat

Original poster

Separating the art from the artist?

41 replies

ecclesvet · 27/03/2012 18:23

Not a specifically feminist issue I suppose, but I wondered if there was any consensus on whether one should separate art from the artist.

This was mainly inspired by the furore over Chris Brown, although I can't say I'd really lose anything over that, since I didn't listen to his music. But John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Roman Polanski, Bill Murray, Sean Penn - should I no longer be a fan of their work, given the things they've done?

OP posts:
AgnesCampbellMacPhail · 27/03/2012 19:37

Penn committed DV.

I don't mean Nabokov. I mean the people who read that book and see Lolita as responsible for her rape.

JuliaScurr · 27/03/2012 19:30

Sean Penn? What he do?

Original poster
ecclesvet · 27/03/2012 19:27

Correction: he doesn't deny it, he calls the accusations "devastating".

OP posts:
Original poster
ecclesvet · 27/03/2012 19:26

Bill Murray - accused of domestic violence by his now ex-wife; he denies it.

OP posts:
madwomanintheattic · 27/03/2012 19:24

Oh no, not that discussion. Tis patently ridiculous. And to read it that way makes me laff a leetle bit.

The 'Nabokov must be paedo' line. So a sort of reversal of the q, really.

All along the death of the artist/ author line though.

Don't buy much music, tbh, and this household is still littered with bieber and thingy off camp rock.

It is interesting who is picked up to be an icon and what gets swept under the carpet or minimised to fit a particular ideal, though. So obv the cult of celebrity is powerful enough as a whole to prioritise image/achievement over abuse.

Hoebag · 27/03/2012 19:23

I didnt know that about John Lennon I am actually quite shocked

AgnesCampbellMacPhail · 27/03/2012 19:16

I don't watch Polanski's films because he has never taken responsibility for what he did.

Neither has Chris Brown.

I try not to financially support misogynistic artists but that can be difficult.

I find the people who think Lolita seduced Humbert stupid and dismiss them accordingly.

Greythorne · 27/03/2012 19:10

What about Degas?

Hanging around backstage at the Paris Opera, watching the young dancers getting undressed, getting his rocks off at it all and he parlays that into a reputation as an Impressionist genius.

Greythorne · 27/03/2012 19:07

What did Bill Murray do?

I love John lennon's music, but having read his biography, he was a selfish, puerile, narcissistic twit who treated everyone - colleagues, women, his own children - abominably.

chibi · 27/03/2012 19:05

i avoid it if the artist is alive and could profit (in any sense but mostly financial) from me engaging with their work

thus is will listen to the beatles (lennon) but not watch a polanski film

i feel that misogyny is so pervasive, and kind of integral to the almighty-dude-artist mythos (picasso anyone?) that you'd be hard pressed to find one who wasn't an arsehole. regardless, i am loath to finance their arseholery whilst they are alive to enjoy it

madwomanintheattic · 27/03/2012 19:03
Grin
AutumnSummers · 27/03/2012 18:58

People in the public profile try to keep thier dirty laundry away from the public eye because perception, rightly, very much affects how well they do in thier careers.

But Bill Murray? Really?

SardineQueen · 27/03/2012 18:53

what has bill murray done?

SardineQueen · 27/03/2012 18:53

This is a really tricky one.

There are some artists that I avoid due to what they have done.

But I still dance around a bit when billy jean comes on the radio.

Maybe it helps if they are dead?

Original poster
ecclesvet · 27/03/2012 18:44

Domestic violence, although he later owned up to it and said it was wrong.

OP posts:
winnybella · 27/03/2012 18:26

What has John Lennon done?