Creative Liscence in Artwork

Today my next door neighbour gave me a Chanukah/חנוכה gift of great personal significance to him: a collection of 100 cards whereupon examples of his artwork can be found.

I felt that this was a really nice thing for him to do when he gave them to me. He spend the last 2 months, I believe, making close to 9000 cards with different pieces of his artwork on them. Why did he do this? That's a very difficult question. He has repeatedly expressed to me that he wants to make a change in the world, and one of the ways which he hopes to accomplish this is through his art.

Just within this stack of cards, barely over 1 percent of his entire collection, there is prevalent a concern for displaying bestiality, and other acts of human sexuality that would not be considered proper by some standards.

I found that my initial reaction to receiving his art changed the more I looked through it. It went from sheer appreciation for what a nice deed he had done to almost a revulsive reaction to some of the scenes depicted on the cardstock.

How does one consume art like this? I decided to reserve judgment as best I could. I'm not going to let my standards of sexual propriety get in the way of how I feel about my friend, especially on account of his art. Just because someone is depicting scenes of beastiality in the context of artwork it can't mean that they are actually in heat for a good romp with the animals. What I'm thinking is that the scenes could be a good projection of his feelings about the outside world on to a decisive analagous form. After all, isn't everything we do tied to our feelings, experiences, personalities, temperaments?

I looked up some info on Art for its own sake, just to see if there were any opinions about meaning vs. meaninglessness of art, and here is what i found from a website called Modernism by Christopher Witcombe:

A work of art is the unique result of a unique temperament. Its beauty comes from the fact that the author is what he is. It has nothing to do with the fact that other people want what they want. Indeed, the moment that an artist takes notice of what other people want, and tries to supply the demand, he ceases to be an artist, and becomes a dull or an amusing craftsman, an honest or dishonest tradesman. He has no further claim to be considered as an artist.

- Oscar Wilde

So according to this perspective art should be appreciated on a very uniquely individual basis. What I want out of the art doesn't matter so much as what the artist wants/or doesn't want to convey to me. Hard to accept in that case, isn't it?

After reflecting on these matters, I think the conclusion that I can come to is that giving this gift was something that must have required a good deal of openness. If he can be open like that to me, without fearing that I'm going to think he's a deviant, then I do respect that!

Acceptingly,

- Inkhorn