Artist’s deeds and their influence on the art
I was listening to a podcast about cinema and it inspired me to write about this topic. He made an arguable point over the celebration of art which I neither completely deny nor completely agree with. So here it goes “Should we celebrate the painting of a killer who has killed 10 people?”. My immediate answer would be a ‘yes’ which I expect the same to be the majority, on deep discussion and replicating it in our real-life situations, I understood that it’s a delicate situation.
Last week, the majority of cricket fans were disappointed with Sachin’s tweet on “sovereignty” and went on to criticize him. I was one among them. Though I am not a big fan, I truly believe him to be an irremovable and important pioneer of cricket in our country and he shall have a special place in the country’s cricket history. There were many #IStandWithSachin tweets that sounded preposterous and I can only feel for them being blinded by the fanaticism. As far as I am concerned I will continue to criticize his political stand and I will never dispose of the achievements that he has made for the country. Is considering cricket as an art? is a different question but I thought that the situation fits the dilemma that’s been dealt with. Implying if I “should we celebrate art?” situation here, my answer would be yes and I would never bring his political stance while appreciating his career.
There’s another situation similar where I find myself in contrary, Rajinikanth. Same situation as that of Sachin. Rajinikanth, the style Samrat has starred in numerous amazing films and literally owns the term ‘Superstar’. While being so, his political stance off late has been condemnable. Be it the Tuticorin gun shoot or any massive happening in the recent past, Rajinikanth has sided with the victimizers while the majority expected him to voice for the victims. It has truly affected me whenever I rewatch his classics. I haven’t been able to enjoy Rajini the star fully lately. Whenever he does heroism on screen, his inappropriate and senseless comments during different times have struck my mind. I am not sure if I constitute the majority or minority in this case but if we imply the “should we celebrate art?” situation here, my answer would be a “difficult” yes from the mind that deviates to a no while actually implementing it. While I expect to celebrate Rajini on screen, it’s hasn’t been that easy as his ‘Sanghi’ stances have caused hindrance.
Two different situations, two different areas, two different answers. A simple answer to “Should we celebrate art irrespective of the artist’s deeds?” will be a theoretical yes from the majority. But once we are put up in the actual situation, we find calculating the odds and convincing ourselves over our contradictory opinions.
Art needs to be celebrated irrespective of the artist’s deeds but it’s easier said than done as numerous other factors affect the decision made. Some of which are the artist’s deed, the effect on the mass, the inappropriateness and etc. I am pretty sure there will be polarizing opinions and coming to a firm decision on this topic is improbable. This doesn’t provide a valid answer but I assume it stimulates the question in your mind to think about it.
