What happens to our feelings about the art when we discover the artist isn’t a nice person, or worse?
Jessica Hooper explains the dilemma well:
“Yeah, we can just shorthand it as bad people making good art. I’m not interested in music that’s scrubbed and safe, and art is complicated.” (Full interview at Paste Magazine)
Which puts us in a similar position as our history classrooms and textbooks, what James Loewen, author of Lies My Teachers Told Me, describes as “handicapped by history”:
“The results of herofication are potentially crippling to students…Our children end up without realistic role models to inspire them. Students also develop no understanding of causality in history” (28-29).
John Lennon is one of the most influential songwriters, an outspoken symbol for peace; but he also acted in a terrible fashion to his family, a story plagued with affairs and domestic violence. (Julian Lennon’s interview: Dad was a hypocrite.)
Does it ruin the art?
Does history give him a pass because of his songwriting; and if we give one talented artist a pass, what does that say when we don’t give the same annulment to another artist? Say, Chris Brown?
Artists do need to be held accountable during their lifetimes, and we don’t do ourselves a service by whitewashing their legacies after they’ve died.
Art is a symbol of the human condition. We must embrace it, let it challenge us. And if the story of the human condition is complex, it most likely mirrors elements of our own life stories.
I don’t know what happens to our feelings about art when we discover the story of the artist, but the story of heroism is much worse. Leave heroes for the Greek myths. Let our role-models be human. Sometimes, the art must stand on it’s own.
As an artist, the most important metric is difficult to measure
When you decide to release your art, you will start measuring data.
How many people clicked the play button? How many folks visited that Medium article? How many people attended the art exhibition? Where are my fans located? How many wrote a comment, clicked like, shared a tweet?
Data’s an important thing to have, but there is one powerful number that’s difficult to measure: How many people were changed by my art?
We don’t always know. We aren’t always told.
Sometimes, someone will tell you how a song changed their life, how an idea led them to a new pathway; but usually we don’t often share that compliment.
I’ve told Frances Luke Accord how “In the Water” got me through some lonely drives on tour; but at a house concert in February, one of their college roommates told me how that song was so important to him. I wonder if he’s shared that with the songwriters?
I’ve never told Brian Vander Ark how much “Someone Like You”, and most of his first solo record, got me through difficult semesters during college. I had that record on repeat while driving through West Michigan, learning to craft my own songs between essays and classes and parties and breakups and my first shows. The record changed me. He has no idea.
So set your art free. Hope it affects people. Trust it might; but don’t get too caught up in the data, unless is helps you make more art.
* * * *
Here are some Michigan-made songs that might change you:
I caught a little Twitter exchange today between Derek Sivers and Gregory Brown.
A ‘now’ page. I love this idea.
If you have a website, go make one.
Why? One reason is stating what you are working on publicly is a great reminder to yourself to say no to things that (a.) aren’t fun, and (b.) interfere with working on your now list.
Two, organizing a now list might surprise you. Today, I felt like I wasn’t working on enough things, but when I made my list, I realized that I’m working on quite a bit!
Here’s another interesting observation. I’ve looked at Derek Sivers’s website many times before today, but never thought of making a now list until someone suggested it.
The power of suggestion! Go make a now list.
I wish everyone had a /now page! Here's mine: https://t.co/0xoM3YwGNN https://t.co/oEwFBATFkW
— Derek Sivers (@sivers) October 21, 2015
Now from October 20, 2015.
Here’s what I’m working on now, in no particular order:
1. Enjoying time with Ginny, my almost seven-month-old!
Current challenges: Ginny’s not a fan of solid foods, but we tried avocados, bananas and oatmeal.
2. Demoing new music for a release scheduled for 2016.
The songs are written, and the record is 25% tracked at Solid Sound. Most of the album will be me solo acoustic. Very Nick Drake Pink Moon, but the guitars are in tune.
3. Writing poems.
When I get 40 or 50 poems finished, I’m going to self publish a poetry book. I’m not rushing it, just doing it for fun. Here’s some.
4. Running with my dog Lois, usually through the woods.
5. Taking two online classes to keep my teaching certificate current.
(I’m taking a history class and poetry class.)
6. Teaching guitar lessons at my studio, Dixoboro Guitar. Working on getting more students.
7. Playing a ten date tour in October through December, spread out over weekends.
8. Preparing for 2016 release; updated all Google Drive spreadsheets. Debating doing a radio campaign.
9. Planning something cool for my 1000th gig. (I’m at 967)
10. Writing blogs, posting one every weekday.
Current Reading List:
- Fiction: The Rent Collector by Camron Wright
- Essay: Iggy Pop’s lecture on BBC 6
- Poetry: The Language of Life by Bill Moyers
- History: Lies My Teachers Told Me, by James Loewen
- History: People’s History of the United States, by Howard Zinn
- Every morning I read Seth Godin’s blog.
- Most weekdays I read Jack Lessenberry’s essay on Michigan Radio.
This now page was inspired by Derek Silver and Gregory Brown’s tweets. Go make a “now” page, then get working!
