92taurusj

92taurusj t1_j41yo90 wrote

Reply to comment by j50gibson in How philosophy can help with loving the art but hating the artist by ADefiniteDescription

>I think thats silly tbh . Museums have old paintings of artists who’ve done awful things back in the day, yet people still line up to go see them .

To me, this seems to ignore important context. People go to museums to see famous art made by both bad and good people, yes. However, doesn't it seem that the historical significance plays a large role, as well?

Let's take Picasso as an example. He was famously abusive and misogynistic. His most famous pieces, however, depict scenes from the era of World War 2, among other topics. If we're looking at a modern artist like Spacey, in comparison, I think we have to consider a few key differences:

1a. Spacey's still alive, and it might feel more like you're directly supporting a person accused (and who admitted in this case) to doing some pretty bad things compared to viewing a dead guy from history's works

1b. The money spent to view the dead guy's work is likely going to a museum or organization with a mission of preserving and displaying a variety of historical pieces, rather than seeing a new Spacey movie knowing some of the proceeds go directly to him

  1. Spacey's work has arguably less historical value when looked at overall

  2. Society has advanced, and what it tolerates from artists has changed. Evolving standards in society is generally a good thing (slavery is bad now, more women have rights, torture is a no-no, etc.)

>I know some people who will stop listening to actual good music because of (possibly false) allegations.

Follow up to this point: do you find it silly if a Jewish person hears Kanye say he likes Hitler and decides they don't want to listen to any Kanye music anymore?

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