Have people gone traditionally to art for awe and transcendence though? A lot of what we’d consider art through history has been for entertainment (music, theater, dance), function (architecture, fashion), or propaganda.
Have people gone traditionally to art for awe and transcendence though? A lot of what we’d consider art through history has been for entertainment (music, theater, dance), function (architecture, fashion), or propaganda.
Even the most mindless entertainment offers a vision of how we should and should not relate to others. It's a human tradition that stretches back at least 30,000 years that is being disrupted by these new forms, not just movies or books.
I meant to add “always” in the first sentence. Yes, people have gone to art for the things you mentioned, but not everyone, not always and not all art.
I agree with that completely. But all of those forms you mentioned at least have the capacity to bring about the beauty, transcendence, etc. And it has been in the mind of many of the great practitioners of those arts to achieve those very things, regardless of how they were received. What I’m wondering is, in the influencer/TikTok/internet world, are those things even on the table? And if so, I’d love to be pointed in their direction!
(also want to clarify that i don’t mean that in snarky way. this is just something i’ve wondered about for a long time and wanted to ask about but was worried i’d get screamed at)
I didn’t think it was snarky at all!!! ❤️I love these conversations about art. I’m not ready to fully embrace influencers as artists, but I’m also not ready to entirely dismiss the notion of some creators as making performance art. It is an interesting proposition and refreshing to say the least. I don’t really consume influencer content, but I’m always curious to understand why so many people flock to certain types of content. I also want to find a way of hope in all the doom and gloom about culture/art-making, which seems to be one of Substack’s specialties, it seems.
Have people gone traditionally to art for awe and transcendence though? A lot of what we’d consider art through history has been for entertainment (music, theater, dance), function (architecture, fashion), or propaganda.
Even the most mindless entertainment offers a vision of how we should and should not relate to others. It's a human tradition that stretches back at least 30,000 years that is being disrupted by these new forms, not just movies or books.
I meant to add “always” in the first sentence. Yes, people have gone to art for the things you mentioned, but not everyone, not always and not all art.
I agree with that completely. But all of those forms you mentioned at least have the capacity to bring about the beauty, transcendence, etc. And it has been in the mind of many of the great practitioners of those arts to achieve those very things, regardless of how they were received. What I’m wondering is, in the influencer/TikTok/internet world, are those things even on the table? And if so, I’d love to be pointed in their direction!
(also want to clarify that i don’t mean that in snarky way. this is just something i’ve wondered about for a long time and wanted to ask about but was worried i’d get screamed at)
I didn’t think it was snarky at all!!! ❤️I love these conversations about art. I’m not ready to fully embrace influencers as artists, but I’m also not ready to entirely dismiss the notion of some creators as making performance art. It is an interesting proposition and refreshing to say the least. I don’t really consume influencer content, but I’m always curious to understand why so many people flock to certain types of content. I also want to find a way of hope in all the doom and gloom about culture/art-making, which seems to be one of Substack’s specialties, it seems.