On the decadent perception of Art
[i]I found myself playing with Nietzsche and ranting about Hololive idols last month (I was noticed by one of them and I was starstruck). In short, what I'm saying here (I think) is that people tend to use idol events (concerts, steams, and stuff) with the intent of escaping from their daily suffering (which is very close to Schopenhauer's aesthetics). I was questioning the wisdom in this view. I thought it would be better if art served not as an escape but as a reminder of the greatness of our life, our human experience.
I can see me ranting about a "misuse of hypocrisy." It sounds dumb, but this relates to my idea of ad hoc truth which I may or may not have discussed somewhere. Simply put, I was saying that hypocrisy is unavoidable and necessary in our daily lives so we should just stay authentic to this. What an oxymoron: authentic hypocrisy.
Hmm I was also ranting about the "higher culture." Wonder what I meant... probably the culture of authenticity, acknowledgement, and respect? I was not suggesting a political system based on this culture to achieve some sort of peace and justice, but simply just a culture where people can better evolve intellectually and creatively.
I'm not sure, but I may also have ranted about Christianity here. If I was, then one might think that I was mimicking Nietzsche, but that's not the case. The Philippines is a widely Catholic country and so it follows that my family, peers, and relatives have a sort of affinity to Christianity. Even I myself do. But, welp, I found myself in unpleasant situations because of certain Christian values and behaviours that result from this, so I do vent about this quite a lot.[/i]
10:19 PM 19/01/2021
Today, I make quite a radical realization, one that could crumble and collapse the entire castles of some present teenagers. When it came to me, I was welcomed by a sadness that scolded me for my hypocrisy, one that dared pull me away from a seemingly innocuous comfort.
I am referring to idolatry. The term seems kind of off, so instead of forcing on it a new meaning, I will just coin a new term: idolness. I am referring to idolness. It is the most genius, most powerful weapon humanity had thus created: the power to powerlessness, to the consent to weakness. Humanity's hedonistic values had been given the Excalibur to vanquish the demon king! Tied beautifully in a knot by none other than her holiness Aphrodite, through her beauty and love, weakness had then been ignored. It had been treated as a sort of inescapable human condition, an inevitable and impossible challenge, the tall, three-meter thick iron wall that is the originator of tragedy. The appreciation of art, the passionate cheerfulness, and the intoxicating will to support, can be traced back to the veneration of these two values. I call those who possess these two values as "idols", our contemporary idols. The affirmers of these values, they are to be called "fans" or more generally, "consumers". The idol-fan dynamics as itself should be no harm to us, my friends, but we should tread carefully, for this is a tightrope that one trip can very easily lead to our fall to decadence. I have tripped, and I assume that you have as well, but together we shall climb back up and restart our adventure towards the higher type of idolization.
It is a basic instinct of humans to protect their ego. The acculturation of certain values had done some excellence and played some horrible tricks and sick jokes on humanity. One of which is the acceptance of weaknesses. Human began to think that weakness is not an obstacle, but a strength. Indeed, one can use weakness in all sorts of ways, but why as a virtue? Why not as an opportunity to overcome? Humans, if they are to practice holistic-love, are required by their conviction to overcome their weaknesses! Had their superiority complex numbed so much that they no longer wish to hate themselves? Had they lost their love for contempt? Where else should they use this enchanted sword that is the 'pagmamahal para sa paghamak' other than the self? Therefrom one will get to know the others one finds so contemptible. the love for such contempt should bring about more knowledge of oneself and others. It is an essential motivator for humans to strive for superiority, to actualize their Will to Power. The weak, with their knowledge of this, can very possibly claim their envisioned strength. Let's love our weakness as the origin of contempt! Let's celebrate our love as the source of all power! Let us use very wisely the weakness that we so posses! Let us not, however, confuse this overflowing love as the acceptance of weakness. The superior should love weakness not for acceptance, but acknowledgement! Let us tread our ropes carefully and not make such a silly slip. Let us be wary! The subtlety of the flavor is worrisome that one might think one is enjoying Häagen-Dazs Rum Tres Leches Ice Cream without knowing that it is poisoned. Let us refine out tastes and acquire the ability to differentiate this from that. Let's be careful!
Idolness had been used by the venerators of orthodox values as a weapon to combat the despicable emotions that our weakness arouses. They had stolen from us our precious Aphrodite and vandalized our higher culture. There is humor in hypocrisy, for all hypocrisy is done in deliberation, except for one kind: the ignorant-hypocrisy. It is when one's vain, dogmatic assertions fail to acknowledge the impossibility of a certain thing to be actualized precisely because of that very same assertion. It immediately discloses the rustiness of one's brain and one's irksome lack of character. I was angered by this when it came to my realization that my treasured hypocrisy encompasses such a pathetic thing, but I soon came to see it as overly humorous. I want to thank ignorant-hypocrites for this tragic comedy! They are to be appreciated as a masterful work of art! Their decadent attributes act as a sign for those striving for superiority, a sign that shows the exact direction one must avoid! Orthodox values should be scrapped just as it scrapped the values before it. "A person's trash is another person's work of art".
Let us not use idolness to ignore our weaknesses. Let us not pervert art into decadence. One must separate their hedonistic ethical practices from art. One must not starve oneself if one wishes to fill one's stomach. It's quite elementary. I found myself starving myself to observe some luxurious cuisine like some skinny dog not too long ago, and I now find the error. It is beautiful how I missed something so simple. Idolness allows for us, even we good people, to drop our guards and intoxicate ourselves with the unconscious, ulterior motive to ignore our weaknesses. Our rejection of suffering; of life; necessitates the freedom to forget our weakness. Such cowardice! There is no merit in ignoring it, it should be embraced tightly with both hands; it should be overcome! Let us use idolness, we good fans, as the great inciter of the higher culture and the mirror that will bare naked our whole body! Let us not wallow in our pity, let us celebrate our suffering!
I can see me ranting about a "misuse of hypocrisy." It sounds dumb, but this relates to my idea of ad hoc truth which I may or may not have discussed somewhere. Simply put, I was saying that hypocrisy is unavoidable and necessary in our daily lives so we should just stay authentic to this. What an oxymoron: authentic hypocrisy.
Hmm I was also ranting about the "higher culture." Wonder what I meant... probably the culture of authenticity, acknowledgement, and respect? I was not suggesting a political system based on this culture to achieve some sort of peace and justice, but simply just a culture where people can better evolve intellectually and creatively.
I'm not sure, but I may also have ranted about Christianity here. If I was, then one might think that I was mimicking Nietzsche, but that's not the case. The Philippines is a widely Catholic country and so it follows that my family, peers, and relatives have a sort of affinity to Christianity. Even I myself do. But, welp, I found myself in unpleasant situations because of certain Christian values and behaviours that result from this, so I do vent about this quite a lot.[/i]
10:19 PM 19/01/2021
Today, I make quite a radical realization, one that could crumble and collapse the entire castles of some present teenagers. When it came to me, I was welcomed by a sadness that scolded me for my hypocrisy, one that dared pull me away from a seemingly innocuous comfort.
I am referring to idolatry. The term seems kind of off, so instead of forcing on it a new meaning, I will just coin a new term: idolness. I am referring to idolness. It is the most genius, most powerful weapon humanity had thus created: the power to powerlessness, to the consent to weakness. Humanity's hedonistic values had been given the Excalibur to vanquish the demon king! Tied beautifully in a knot by none other than her holiness Aphrodite, through her beauty and love, weakness had then been ignored. It had been treated as a sort of inescapable human condition, an inevitable and impossible challenge, the tall, three-meter thick iron wall that is the originator of tragedy. The appreciation of art, the passionate cheerfulness, and the intoxicating will to support, can be traced back to the veneration of these two values. I call those who possess these two values as "idols", our contemporary idols. The affirmers of these values, they are to be called "fans" or more generally, "consumers". The idol-fan dynamics as itself should be no harm to us, my friends, but we should tread carefully, for this is a tightrope that one trip can very easily lead to our fall to decadence. I have tripped, and I assume that you have as well, but together we shall climb back up and restart our adventure towards the higher type of idolization.
It is a basic instinct of humans to protect their ego. The acculturation of certain values had done some excellence and played some horrible tricks and sick jokes on humanity. One of which is the acceptance of weaknesses. Human began to think that weakness is not an obstacle, but a strength. Indeed, one can use weakness in all sorts of ways, but why as a virtue? Why not as an opportunity to overcome? Humans, if they are to practice holistic-love, are required by their conviction to overcome their weaknesses! Had their superiority complex numbed so much that they no longer wish to hate themselves? Had they lost their love for contempt? Where else should they use this enchanted sword that is the 'pagmamahal para sa paghamak' other than the self? Therefrom one will get to know the others one finds so contemptible. the love for such contempt should bring about more knowledge of oneself and others. It is an essential motivator for humans to strive for superiority, to actualize their Will to Power. The weak, with their knowledge of this, can very possibly claim their envisioned strength. Let's love our weakness as the origin of contempt! Let's celebrate our love as the source of all power! Let us use very wisely the weakness that we so posses! Let us not, however, confuse this overflowing love as the acceptance of weakness. The superior should love weakness not for acceptance, but acknowledgement! Let us tread our ropes carefully and not make such a silly slip. Let us be wary! The subtlety of the flavor is worrisome that one might think one is enjoying Häagen-Dazs Rum Tres Leches Ice Cream without knowing that it is poisoned. Let us refine out tastes and acquire the ability to differentiate this from that. Let's be careful!
Idolness had been used by the venerators of orthodox values as a weapon to combat the despicable emotions that our weakness arouses. They had stolen from us our precious Aphrodite and vandalized our higher culture. There is humor in hypocrisy, for all hypocrisy is done in deliberation, except for one kind: the ignorant-hypocrisy. It is when one's vain, dogmatic assertions fail to acknowledge the impossibility of a certain thing to be actualized precisely because of that very same assertion. It immediately discloses the rustiness of one's brain and one's irksome lack of character. I was angered by this when it came to my realization that my treasured hypocrisy encompasses such a pathetic thing, but I soon came to see it as overly humorous. I want to thank ignorant-hypocrites for this tragic comedy! They are to be appreciated as a masterful work of art! Their decadent attributes act as a sign for those striving for superiority, a sign that shows the exact direction one must avoid! Orthodox values should be scrapped just as it scrapped the values before it. "A person's trash is another person's work of art".
Let us not use idolness to ignore our weaknesses. Let us not pervert art into decadence. One must separate their hedonistic ethical practices from art. One must not starve oneself if one wishes to fill one's stomach. It's quite elementary. I found myself starving myself to observe some luxurious cuisine like some skinny dog not too long ago, and I now find the error. It is beautiful how I missed something so simple. Idolness allows for us, even we good people, to drop our guards and intoxicate ourselves with the unconscious, ulterior motive to ignore our weaknesses. Our rejection of suffering; of life; necessitates the freedom to forget our weakness. Such cowardice! There is no merit in ignoring it, it should be embraced tightly with both hands; it should be overcome! Let us use idolness, we good fans, as the great inciter of the higher culture and the mirror that will bare naked our whole body! Let us not wallow in our pity, let us celebrate our suffering!
Comments (28)
I share this sentiment, but let me explain why it doesn't matter, whether you believe that or not. If you're not an aesthetic realist, if you are an anti-realist that believes "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" then there is no true or actual conception of 'decedence' vs. art. There just isn't.
You have to be a Platonist (in the broad sense) in order to justify that there is such a thing as "true art" otherwise, there's no justification.
A crazy woman screaming hysterically is just as beautiful as the moonlight sonata unless there's an actual standard of beauty.
Hi Nagel
You seem to be describing the effects of imagination which is often worshipped in ignorance. Simone Weil describes what I mean in these three quotes.
[i]Imagination and fiction make up more than three quarters of our real life.
Imagination is always the fabric of social life and the dynamic of history. The influence of real needs and compulsions, of real interests and materials, is indirect because the crowd is never conscious of it.[/i]
This results in idolatry
Idolatry comes from the fact that, while thirsting for absolute good, we do not possess the power of supernatural attention and we have not the patience to allow it to develop (Simone Weil, Gravity and Grace 53)..
In modern times in which the loss of conscious attention and dominance of imagintion is obvious, what can be done for people to realize what is being lost? Can a certain quality of art help humanity to "remember?"
There is truth in what you say, but once art is grounded in its more natural, more humanistic conception, the end result is that art as a rejection, a fervent escape from one's suffering (regardless of whether it is one's miniscule daily mishaps or a something more chronic, more lethal), will always go down as unpleasant or unpreferable; this "decadent" conception of art has its validity as a negative human truth.
One's view of life, of the world, is wholly dependent on his psychological state. There's some wisdom in thinking this. Regardless of whether there is "no true or actual conception of 'decadence' vs. art," as you have said, it doesn't matter. The decadent conception of art, I'm sure we can both agree, presents itself as arising from those whose perception are dominated by underlying subconscious pushes and pulls, by certain harmful psychological influences.
Quoting Dharmi
This statement speaks of perceptions of beauty, but I think it's speaking of something more general, if not something entirely different. What I am concerned about isn't the standards of beauty or its other perceptions, but the one doing the perceiving, the beholder. The quote "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" speaks of how there isn't a universality to beauty, but it speaks nothing of the psychology of the beholder and why he/she sees something as beautiful.
I am concerned of how present idols (Singers, boy bands, K-pop artsist,...etc) are used as a sort of drug to intoxicate one away from the glory of the art (specifically, the it's pains and suffering) of life. I suppose this matches the notion of how people are driven away from the reality of life to images and dreams and illusions (regardless of whether it is for the supernatural or the modern artists).
Quoting Nikolas
This may be semantic, but my take on this is not that art has this certain quality, but that we do. It is up to us to view life as an aesthetic phenomenon and find how we can best appreciate it.
:up:
There's also the matter of personal taste. A few people I've met would rather be exposed to the hysterical woman than the Beethoven.
Not sure anyone is being intoxicated away from anything. That's a curious formulation. People like what they like. Even when exposed to alternatives in food, clothing, literature, music or painting - most people seem to prefer mainstream. Do you care what taste people have and, if so, why?
My younger sister had expressed this exact sentiment, that life is so sad and that K-pop gives her life meaning. Whether that is an exaggeration or not is unknown to me, but that statement, I think, had heavy implications.
Mainstream taste has never much differed from what I can see. Very few people choose high art over popular forms.
We have the potential to remember the big picture through awe and wonder from the influence of a certain quality of art. However as you've suggested people are forgetting the big picture and justifying negative emotions and small things enhanced by the bands you've mentioned. If humanity cannot remember, it will forget as a law of nature. Use it or lose it.
“How good music and bad reasons sound when one marches against an enemy.” ? Friedrich Nietzsche
Does the enemy create devolved art or does devolved art create the emotions which create the enemy we march against?
But the real harm is the devolution of impartial conscious attention. This loss IMO supported by negative expressions for some reason called art, assures the gradual devolution of Man into its animal nature.
Quoting Tom Storm
Regardless of their taste, of whether the art form is of a higher caliber or not, it is fine as long as it isn't used to escape to dreamworld.
“How good music and bad reasons sound when one marches against an enemy.” ? Friedrich Nietzsche
Nietzsche seems to have an agonistic philosophy, so naturally I think that he refers to "enemy" here in a positive developmental sense. I think this "good music and bad reasons" is precisely what leads the people of present to, as you have said, "forget the bigger picture" as a result of cowering from their good enemy.
Quoting Nikolas
Negative expressions seem to me just as essential as its positive counterparts. I suppose that it is not the expression but the interpretation that "assures the gradual devolution of Man into its animal nature." But in a wider sense, I suppose it is the complex interplay between art expression and art interpretation that one must be wary of. If the trends in popular art and popular thinking are at a disjoint or are completely aligned with each other but heading for the more destructive, decadent direction, then one is certain to experience a sort of devolution in culture, both popular and personal.
This bit I don't understand. Why is this wrong?
Ok, I get you. I guess if you are addicted to anything as a form of self-medication (which is usually what an escape amounts to) this is problematic, sure. I know a businessman who has neglected his family and friends (and to some extent his company) to spend a fortune collecting and pursuing fine ancient Greek vases. That's no different in practice to losing yourself in slot machines. One is art, one is artless both are unhealthy.
I wonder what the implications of the above sentence are for Plato's view that we're all chained to the floor of a cave, forced to perceive only the shadows of truth? If the mind itself is susceptible to and does create its own false reality, what hope do we have?
Because those people have lost their minds.
Medical science would say they are mentally ill.
But for Plato, that doesn't matter, does it? Humanses are ephemeral, but it's the ideas that are eternal, and this is all that matters.
As far as literature goes (and this has implications for other forms of art): Studying literary theory can go a long way in both demistifying art and in making one aware of one's place in relation to it (thus making it less likely that one will be a mindless consumer of it).
For example, an introductory book like John Sutherland's How Literature Works: 50 Key Concepts can be very helpful for this.
What do you mean? No, I don't speak German. Any non-English words I used here are either in Tagalog or, er, the name of an ice cream company.
Quoting baker
I see. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
Though a symptom of the poverty of Western culture, I do not think that you are correct to suggest that idolization is the primary plight. Jean-Luc Ponty, for instance, had adopted the quasi-new age mein of a European socialite that many within the music industry complain is the source of all of their plights. When I think about Ponty's life and work, it seems unlikely to me that it did any relevant harm. The situation is more of what has been identified in The Cybernetic Hypothesis, a text that was a partial reason for my leaving the Anarchist movement, as, upon identifying the source of our plights within our respective socio-political, intellectual, and cultural environments, they advanced a return to the "Years of Lead" by the rather spurious invocation of the "diffuse guerilla". Though their concept was moreso concerning Politics, I think that the idea that there exist aesthetic regimens, a term that I have created to describe order-enforcing bodies, who attempt to arbitrate culture so that it develops in such a manner that cultivates the accumulation of social capital for its members can be meaningfully applied to the field of Art.
That people become egomaniacs is because of that aesthetics are culturally enforced. It's kind of a botched form of détournement. The Who, I think, is a good example of this. What created the problem was not that The Who were likely to do things like destroy hotel rooms or set a world record for the volume of their speakers at their concerts; they merely only so adequately responded to the plight created by that the music industry establishment had come to celebrate the forms of wealth and class that it had accumulated. The theatrical purpose of the excess of Rock and Roll was to wage a personal riot on account of that the establishment of the music industry had taken their various forms of popular manipulation too far. The Who even commented on the actual riots that were started because of that the press had generated the mythic "mods" and "rockers" in an attempt to use such quote unquote countercultures in order to sell records in Quadrophenia.
All of which is to say nothing of decadence. Though, I, too, think we should assess that it can be negative, I wouldn't say that it necessarily is so. Joanna Newsom's art is decadent, but I think that it is both good and does no damage to society. Contrary to most "high art", I would even say that it has elevated the status of Folk music to a certain extent, and, so, has actually had a fairly positive effect.
There you go. :up:
Personally, I'm of the John Cale theory when it comes a Theory of Everything about the Art world. The "Neo-Fascist spies" are the people whom you would never suspect, those engaged in the appraisal and fixing of prices of selected works.