reality's fantasy

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

The Art Or The Artist?

Someone asked me today if I had read any H.P Lovecraft books, and my answer was; Yes I have but I don't own any of his books.
It got me thinking why I didn't own any of his works since I am an avid collector of not just books but horror books, and since Lovecraft is/was one of the most influential writers of the horror genre it was indeed strange I owned nothing of his. Then I remembered why I had never bothered buying any of his books was because I found out he was racist and that lead me to the point of this Blog.

Should an artist's life or way of life affect your thoughts on the art? I'm on the fence about the whole issue. If a rapper came out that he was gay, should it affect how much I enjoy his music? I don't think it should but I know it probably would, I'm sorry for that bad example cause it makes it seem like I'm saying homosexuality is wrong.

Its like the whole Michael Richards issue, should I stop enjoying the Kramer character or enjoy it less after his idiotic "nigger rant"? I checked and it doesn't affect how much I like the character, but then why does it affect me in the case of Lovecraft? I am not sure really, maybe it depends on how much you love the art and if we do we become hypocrites and shun the negative aspect of the artist's life or maybe it just depends of the severity of the negativity.

If Hitler painted one of the most beautiful things ever would people still view it as something beautiful without judging the art cause of the painter?

I would like to hear any and everyone's thoughts on the whole issue so please drop some comments.