Can you enjoy art by a person who has a worldview you find reprehensible?

[el_bryanto]

Just curious about this one. Another vector is age; does art produced in the 1940s get more of a pass than art from the 1990s.

And I'm using art in it's broadest sense - to encompass acting, directing, creating music, novels, short stories, painting, sculpture, photography and many other types of art I'm not thinking of right now.

Bryant

13 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	I can definitely enjoy art by a person with a reprehensible worldview
	9 (69%)
	I can somewhat enjoy art by a person with a reprehensible worldview
	0 (0%)
	I find it difficult to enjoy art by a person with a reprehensible worldview
	2 (15%)
	I cannot enjoy art by a person with a reprehensible worldview
	2 (15%)
	I like to vote!
	0 (0%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
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[whatthehey]

1. of course. I have no clue in most cases anyway

But Wagner remains a favorite for one.

I just don't understand those who form apolitical opinions on a political basis.

[Atman]

4. What would Apocolypse Now be without Wagner?

Seriously...c'mon.

[CBGLuthier]

2. Yes, particularly older material.

I like John Wayne movies. I like some of D.W. Griffith's films but not The Klansman (Birth of a Nation). I like SF author Philip Jose Farmer even though he proved himself to be a horrible racist. Same applies to H.P. Lovecraft. I also quoted Heinlein earlier today.

I would imagine considering the nature of the world that a lot of the great art was produced by people who considered anyone not white to be inferior.


But I will never support anyone currently working who espouses views that should have been left in history's dustbin.

[ecstatic]

16. Didn't know that about Philip Jose Farmer

That sucks! I only read one book from him (Riverworld), but it really inspired me!

[Atman]

3. I bought a Thomas Kinkade print just so I could pee on it.

That was some enjoyable art.

[Calista241]

6. What did Thomas Kinkade do or advocate? N/t

[Algernon Moncrieff]

11. Kinkade is often associated with movement conservatives

I'm not sure that's entirely fair. I'm not aware that he made comments or strongly advocated for those views. He did, however, produce art that catered to conservative tastes. Mostly, Kinkade was ultra-comercial.

[Atman]

12. He was a fraud pseudo-Christian scam artist.

Total bunko bullshit. He hired slave labor to paint his pictures, then would spit on them (or make one brush stroke) and claimed that made them his "original" work. He opened mall chain stores of mass-produced crap that he sold as some sort of spiritual Christian holiness. His personal life was even more of a mess. In general, he was a horrible person.

[stevenleser]

5. It depends. How reprehensible is the worldview and how good is the art? And...

did the person commit atrocities and if so how recently? So you are right about the time factor.

I am not sure any quality of art would get me to watch/consume it if the artist was Hitler, Stalin or Pol Pot.

[el_bryanto]

7. Well when you are talking about actions - Woody Allen and Roman Polanski come to mind

But if you are looking for opinions - take Gary Oldham - he recently made some pretty unfortunate comments.

Bryant

[Iggo]

8. Yes.

[bigwillq]

9. Yes (nt)

[Algernon Moncrieff]

10. Ted Nugent is an artist (musician). I can no longer enjoy his work.

In Nugent's case, he's injected his political beliefs into his live show in a way that has almost created a performance art piece of really poor taste.

Other artists, including actors (Clint Eastwood, Bruce Willis) and filmmakers (Elia kazan, Walt Disney, Frank Capra) have made statements or held beliefs with which I strongly disagre; however I can still enjoy their work.

[gvstn]

17. Mel Gibson is one I can't see the same way anymore.

I'm a forgiving person but something about him really turns me off now and I don't even want to see a movie (old or recent) with his name attached.

I can appreciate art done by people I don't agree with intellectually but bold faced fury and irrational anger overrule my ability to forgive easily.

[Zorra]

13. Only if it's good. Conservatives generally don't have any more than moderate

creative talent and abilities in the arts. I usually think they suck long before I know they're conservatives.

But conservative artists, actor Robert Duvall, is truly excellent, and a now deceased member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, guitarist Allen Collins, died in 1990, and who may have been conservative, is a favorite guitarist of mine.

Other than that, I can't think of any conservative authors, musicians, actors, or other artists who are any better than stock, schlock, mediocre talents, although I'm sure there are a few.

[0rganism]

14. just as it's possible to dislike art from someone i agree with otherwise

people are capable of diverse and amazing things, including producing enjoyable media experiences while thinking what i consider to be absolute bullshit.

[ecstatic]

15. Not really, their words and/or actions are always in the back of my mind, even years later.

Random examples: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, R.Kelly, Chris Brown, etc.

[MrScorpio]

18. That's how I feel about Frank Miller

The man's a talented comic artist and storyteller… But he's a right wing asshole

Oh well.

[TheKentuckian]

19. Sure, I usually don't know what the artist believes nor are they worked up to hero status

So, generally I'd say it is what it is each on its own merits in the context. I'm sure there are limits but broadly speaking the response is yes.