Hickey’s article “Enter the Dragon: On the Vernacular of Beauty” is extremely thought provoking. It seems that as long as we have had art in this country we have also had the constant debate on what is the appropriate level of censorship. Hickey touches on this when discussing public institutions displaying provocative paintings and the government’s desire to discontinue such a practice. This is part of Hickey’s larger discussion on the role of beauty in art and what exactly the impact of art is on society. The lens in which he writes the article is not as an evaluator of art in an aesthetic sense; but rather the carefully observant historian. Hickey’s approach is to find what matters beyond the initial reaction to art. What are the lasting impacts of not only the art itself but also what it causes us to do as individuals and a community. Now he does not only want the focus to be on our reaction as he rightly points out if it is too manipulated be criticism then the art is not doing anything rather we are the ones acting. However, his observation of the underlying impact and extent of art is very accurate. Art continually causes this country to question, think, and debate things such as values, principles, and morals. This is where the role of beauty comes into play. It becomes, as he identifies, “a war of words” to deem what is beauty what is appropriate, what is truly art and its purpose. While typically older generations feel threatened by the “provocative” new art, it is not all bad. Yes, we need standards. We cannot simply put any type of art up anywhere we want. However, continuing to debate those standards and evolve those standards is crucial because it is happening in every other aspect of our world. Society is not stagnant and therefore neither should our definition of beauty or role of art.
No comments:
Post a Comment