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Should art reflect the world

gerard quain

gerard quain

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Should art always reflect the world, even if its poetry, or should it be alternative to the craziness of modern living, and modern behaviour, it is the great question
 
gerard quain said:
simple , for instance current events in middle east should artists , especially writers drop what their doing and write about it , to reflect the reality of the world
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I really like this question and it's quite valid. When I was younger, I loved reading Easter 1916 and look down on writings about the natural world. To me, it was vapid and just plain silly when "heavier" issues are present. Later on, I began to grasp that many poets by writing about the natural world or their own experiences, created a radical narrative of their own. I can see this value in transcendental writing, though I'm still have a problem recognizing the adequacy of "beatnik" writings. To me, you should write about what makes an impression on you. Sometimes it will be simple things, other times political things. As you are Irish, I think it would've been amazing had someone put pen to paper about the siege of Drogheda or today, the conflict in Syria. So in answer to your question, poets should write about both!......as long as it is something they experience in some way.
 
Ditto Sparkchaser ! ! ! !

Slam dunk answer to original question as stated: Not only "no," but "hell, no!"

Art should not "should" anything.
 
I think the only 'should' that there should be is that it should express the human experience so that viewers / readers can identify with it.

If that happens to be an expression of some aspect of the current events then great, if not then so be it.

Some of the protest songs of the 60's are amazing but not every one HAD to write / sing / express themselves in those terms.

It is after all a very personal expression and all good art requires the artist to put themselves into it, otherwise it is lifeless.
 
SFG75 said:
I really like this question and it's quite valid. When I was younger, I loved reading Easter 1916 and look down on writings about the natural world. To me, it was vapid and just plain silly when "heavier" issues are present. Later on, I began to grasp that many poets by writing about the natural world or their own experiences, created a radical narrative of their own. I can see this value in transcendental writing, though I'm still have a problem recognizing the adequacy of "beatnik" writings. To me, you should write about what makes an impression on you. Sometimes it will be simple things, other times political things. As you are Irish, I think it would've been amazing had someone put pen to paper about the siege of Drogheda or today, the conflict in Syria. So in answer to your question, poets should write about both!......as long as it is something they experience in some way.
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thank you for very logical and well thought out reply , which as I have found out is very rare on most sites to get a reply , that does not end in some kind of personal abuse
 
gerard quain said:
thank you for very logical and well thought out reply , which as I have found out is very rare on most sites to get a reply , that does not end in some kind of personal abuse
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I wold love to hear the argument that art should only be about "serious" things. What line of reasoning do you think such an argument would be?
 
SFG75 said:
I wold love to hear the argument that art should only be about "serious" things. What line of reasoning do you think such an argument would be?
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thanks for your reply, my answer to your question is two fold, behold a book like Don Quixote, it seems as if it is a dark comedy, but it in fact , it is probably one the best books about the futility of war ever written, Gulliver's travels dismissed as kid's book , yet it was a spell binding satire on politics in the time of Dean Swift, to my mind art demeans itself , by not living in the real world, even something such animation can get a serious point across more effectively than all the , sound bite rhetoric , we sadly so used too
 
I don't see how any art can ever be fully divorced from the creator's reality. Unfortunately however with some modern artists the reality that is reflected is more than a little disturbing.

Although that would then fall into 'good' art because it elicits a response, but I don't think wondering if the artist concerned shouldn't be locked up in a mental hospital is the kind of response 'good' art should elicit.
 
Meadow337 said:
I don't see how any art can ever be fully divorced from the creator's reality. Unfortunately however with some modern artists the reality that is reflected is more than a little disturbing.
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Life has become a grey landscape, for want of better metaphor
 
Meadow337 said:
But then isn't that a reflection of your world view?
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Yes it is , a valid if sad view for all that, we seem to live in time , that excuse for not doing right , is taken, we live in a time of celebrity, and the more vapid and distasteful an idea , the further it will go, maybe it is my age, but in some respects , I wish that hope and honour , were still regarded as worthy attributes
 
And yet I still find much is right in the world, much to be joyful about, I guess it depends on your attitude.
 
Meadow337 said:
And yet I still find much is right in the world, much to be joyful about, I guess it depends on your attitude.
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Don't get me wrong , my view of the world is a general one , there are area's of life that lift me , give me hope and sometimes make me wonder why the rest of the world has not quiet cottoned to the beauty
 
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