“Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times.” Niccolo Machiavelli
I saw this quote today and could not help but ponder how it applies to the arts (and, in turn, the artists). Must the artist truly be at the mercy of society’s ever-changing tastes? We have reached a time when to be politically incorrect is to be a terrorist, but the artist’s very job is to be politically incorrect, stimulating the masses into thinking for themselves and considering why things happen/people act the way they do. So then, should we censor ourselves before the critics can, making sure not to step on any toes if we expect recognition for our efforts? Why must we de-humanize our work in order for the contemporary world to accept it? It seems silly to me that artists, who turn reflectors on society (for whatever reason), must paint pretty pictures over the images in the mirror to keep the public from getting ruffled. We have become a society that cannot even look at itself without make-up and hair extensions (look at all the beauty ads out there and how well the fashion industry is doing and tell me I’m wrong). Instead of trying to envision a better future to work toward, we now tell ourselves we’re the best we could possibly be and punish anyone who challenges us. The beauty of humanity lies in the fact that we build and create to make the world as good as we think it can be — when did that change? When did everyone decide that to grow is to be corrupted? Still waters run deep, yes, but they also stagnate. And in the cultures we have molded, it is the artist’s job to ripple the surface, overflow the edges a little bit and create streams in new directions. So how can the arts survive in a world that challenges our most basic mission? Is it our job to wake everyone up, shake the sleep from their eyes and show them how still we have become? Or, if we expect recognition of any kind, must the artist now alter his conduct and become still himself, matching his tastes to those of society and the popular media? I agree with the quote only because of the words “constant success,” here meaning success in the eyes of one’s peers, but I disagree from a writer’s standpoint because my idea of success lies in honestly reporting the human condition. Personally, if I must find other ways to support myself and find “success,” so be it — I will. But bending to the will of popular tastes just to get a paycheck doesn’t make me an artist — it makes me a fraud. So I suppose the question becomes: How hard will you fight for your passion?
Interesting take on the quote. That wasn’t how I read it. Instead it made me think of how we, as artists, need to be business savvy, smart enough to understand that we must be accountable for our own success, not wishing days away. Too, it might be read as how we as writers change to reflect the society which produces us, say, like a very talented young writer who is drawn most to micro or experimental work that never would have flown fifty years ago
Comment by soundofbuilding — July 22, 2008 @ 1:15 pm
oh, and *pout* how is it i didn’t make your blogroll?
Comment by soundofbuilding — July 22, 2008 @ 1:16 pm