Introduction
The question of whether it is possible to dissociate the artist from their work has been debated for a long. Some people have become famous and succeeded in their artistic work after positive reviews of their behavior. On the other hand, controversies involving well-known actresses, musicians, artists, or even professional athletes have negatively impacted careers. Such controversies, christened cancel culture, lead people to judge artistic works by their behavior. The cancel culture is real, ubiquitous, and powerful, focusing on themes of race, gender, sexuality, and other related concerns. Even though positive critical reviews about an artist’s behavior can bolster their artistic accomplishments, people should treat artists as individuals who have lived apart from their work.
Discussion
Positive critical reviews about an artist’s behavior can improve people’s appreciation of their music. Steinhardt and McClaran (2022) recently conducted two experiments to establish the role that narratives play in popular music. In the first experiment, the researchers found out that the narratives about the artists influenced how people appreciated and enjoyed their music. In the second experiment, the researchers found out that narratives increased how much the listeners liked the artist, and the desire to see them succeed. It is interesting to note that the increase in enjoyment and appreciation was even stronger for the songs which were not initially popular (Steinhard & McClaran, 2022). This experiment is a positive indictment of the power of narratives in influencing people’s perceptions about an artist’s work.
However, if the review is negative, people are eager to stop backing the artist and their brand. They do this by associating the artist’s work or brand with their perceived bad behavior, or political, or religious views. When this happens, an artist can incur losses, including loss of revenue streams from endorsements or cancellation of performance contracts. Kevin Hart, for instance, was criticized in 2019 for using homophobic phrases in his tweets and stand-up material (Papadakis, 2021). Eventually, he was compelled to step down from hosting the Oscars. This incident shows how bad it can get when society decides to attack a person based on their personal views.
One of the reasons why we should separate the artist from the art is that even artists have shortcomings. Like any other human being, an artist can err, and we cannot be severely judgmental of every person who falls into error. The cancel culture is concerned more with how we should disregard the artists and write them off when they make mistakes than with how those mistakes can be used by the artists to create art that is inclusive. Negative criticism ignores the artist’s limitations and weaknesses and instead seeks the perfection of behavior and expression from them. Perhaps Kevin Hart’s response to the canceled battalion buttresses this thought. He asks, “When did we get to a point where life was supposed to be perfect? Where people were supposed to operate perfectly all the time?” When people start seeing artists as human beings, they shall be able to treat them in a better way. They shall see them for who they are, and review their behavior not on the basis of their art but humanity. They shall be less severe in how we judge their work when they make mistakes.
It should be noted, also, that there are art that are inspired by the artist’s experience. For example, the themes in the Harry Potter books are so entwined with J.K. Rowling’s wicked and misguided worldview that it is virtually impossible to distinguish the two from each other. In this case, canceling the artist based on their worldview would mean their art would cease to exist. Cancel culture, has, therefore made artists to become reluctant to express themselves. They fear that the things they say will come back to bite them. Such fear stifles creativity, eventually leading to the death of art. Comedians, singers, or painters who should be fusing contemporary issues with their work become boring, and art stops functioning as the social mirror it ought to be.
Even though some artists separate their behaviors from their art, others find their inspiration from their lifestyles. For instance, John Mulaney is a comedian who had an affair with his wife. In none of his comedic performances did he make light of or tell lies about adultery. Some of his designs, such as “the Bittenbender method” and “the salt and pepper diner,” are unrelated to those deeds (Battan, 2020). On the other hand, Ryan Haywood, a former Rooster Teeth and Achievement Hunter employee, represents the opposite end of the spectrum. He has been accused of adultery and of having a relationship with a juvenile who was one of his followers. His artistic work is linked to his behavior and cannot be separated.
Another important thing that we could consider is that while someone may make mistakes, their works have some intrinsic value, benefiting entire communities or cultures. For instance, when Kendrick Lamar launched his album and frequently used the F-slur in one of his songs, there was much discussion (Haney, 2022). He was entirely mistaken in using the F-slur, but as an artist, he did a lot, mainly for African Americans and music. Similarly, one can respect the late Michael Jackson because of how he impacted pop music and the inclusion of black musicians in mainstream media, despite his personal weaknesses, opinions, worldviews, and associations. Furthermore, while these artists may engage in their horrific behavior, the art they produce today may one day serve as an example for others to produce outstanding work. Some would refer to it as a cycle, but if we keep growing and evolving, it will resemble an evolution. Good art should, therefore, be judged due to its value and not the value of the artist. Another reason why art should be separated from the artists is that good behavior does not necessarily imply good art. A decent person does not necessarily create good art, just as wonderful art does not automatically make the creator a decent person.
Conclusion
Even though positive opinions about an artist can improve their artistic appeal, people should learn to separate the artists from their works since negative criticism has had a devastating impact on artists. Most of the time, the relationship between an artist and their art is usually not a matter of concern until the artist is involved in a scandal. However, failing to recognize the artists due to their flaws sounds hypocritical since mistakes are part of human nature. Moreover, since art is a personal experience interpreted by the audience, it does not imply that the audiences cannot disagree with their artists. When disagreeing with an artist, people should focus on their art and not their person because the two may not be necessarily related. Additionally, good behavior may not necessarily imply good art, and criticizing an artist’s lifestyle may breed fear and stifle creativity.
References
Battan, C. (2020). John Mulaney is not so square | The New Yorker. The New Yorker. Web.
Haney, T. (2022). Kendrick Lamar’s New Song ‘Auntie Diaries’ divides the LGBTQ+ community. NPR. Web.
Papadakis, Z. (2021). Kevin Hart slams cancel culture. Newsmax. Web.
Steinhardt, J., & McClaran, N. (2022). Separating the art from the artist: The role of narratives on music enjoyment and appreciation. Psychology of Music, 030573562210987. Web.