While I totally understand this response; I mean, we don't want to feel like we're supporting these individuals negative behaviors, right?
But what if that's not right? What if we completely abhor their choices, and even them personally, but still appreciate, and maybe even love their art?
This is a tricky time in society. The constant (and instant) influx of information, via the internet and social media has us knowing much more about each other than at any other time in history. Too much, in fact.
If you're a well known person, you have crews of people ready to tell us everything you do, everyone you see, and what color underwear (or lack thereof) you're wearing today. So with privacy essentially a thing of the past, it's not surprising that we're hearing more and more of peoples' dirty little secrets.
Don't get me wrong... this is often a good thing. We're filtering out criminal behavior, making people more accountable for their actions, etc.
But when it's artists, like musicians, actors, painters, and authors, we tend to criminalize everything associated with them as well.
And I'm not so sure THAT is a good thing.
When we stand in front of a work of art in a museum, appreciating each delicate brush stroke, are we thinking about the artist? Or what the art makes us feel?
When we fall in love with a story, and where it takes us to in our minds, are we pondering what bad choices the author made in their life as well?
I can't speak for everyone, but I'm not.
I know little to nothing about my favorite painters, authors, actors and musicians. I don't care who they date, what they ate, or what shoes they wear. I simply appreciate their work, and their gift.
We know that some of the greatest minds in art have been troubled souls. Most truly talented people carry great darkness inside of them.
When people pour their rawest selves into something, the results are often beautiful. There can indeed be great beauty in suffering.
Prisons house some of the most gifted artists, that the walls of The Louvre and the halls of Carnegie will never see.
If J.D. Salinger were alive today, would we condemn him?
Almost certainly. But it's impossible to deny the incredible contribution he made to literature.
So can't we do the same for other artists?
Can't we appreciate a movie, book, or album, simply for what it is as an art form? Can we accept that sometimes bad people make good things?
I hope we can. Because I like to think that even the worst people have something good inside them, and they are put on this planet for a reason, and maybe that reason is to create something better than themselves.
What do you think?
