Objectively Good? Part II

(This is the second part of an essay about objectivity and art from
Hilary Crowe. Please see Part I, to begin.)

So what constitutes high or low culture? Is pop art any less valued in the social stratosphere than impressionist or classical works? Warhol has been criticized as parasitic; he enthralled in creating celebrity and art out of thin air, his works devoid of content beyond face value. But in museums the world over, Warhol and Picasso hang feet away from Monet and Cézanne. Each has its place in a separate gallery, but each artist’s importance and achievement is equally celebrated, recognized.

Also, a new art form is emerging, most notably with Londoner Banksy’s guerrilla graffiti art. Art should be a public good, not housed in stodgy mausoleums but part of day-to-day life – street culture. Banksy’s art, though illegal vandalism, at times, manages to disseminate highbrow appeals to social conscience in what is largely considered a lowbrow medium. Does art need an institutional stamp of approval, from MoMA (The Museum of Modern Art), Rolling Stone, or the Academy, to be considered good?

I’ve never been concerned much with what is universally deemed superb. I know what I like and run with it. But when I must present my tastes and opinions to a wider audience, on radio, in a review for the newspaper, or even in this blog, I become self-conscious and self-censoring, at times. As I duel this other DJ, equally vested in his or her playlist, what should I say to win? Play to win? Do I even want to win?

I suppose no one, really, is the authority concerning what is good and right in the world. The best one can do is present one’s opinions honestly, unabashedly. If someone’s got to convince the media-conscious world what to see and hear, I might as well give it a shot.

(Banksy offers photos of guerrilla graffiti free of copyright. The photo is an example of Banksy's work.)

(To see the beginning of this essay, click here.)

culture
art
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