Art is an Uncommitted Crime

Writer: Cecilia Varga, Editor: Youssef Fahmy

Cecilia Varga is a comparative politics MA student from Romania. Her main interests are populism, political propaganda, and art.

“Art is an uncommitted crime,” says the German philosopher Theodor Adorno, suggesting that art should promote the tools with which we can change society. According to Adorno, through the “culture industry”, are created all the modern films, magazines, music, and other forms of entertainment. He criticizes this “entertainment machine” for not always challenging the status quo. Still, for some reason, governments are afraid of art, and they are trying to destroy or censor it even when its topic is not political. Throughout history, art was used by regimes to propagate their ideologies. But sometimes art fought back and criticized politicians, creating counter-movements in the process. Because of this, those in power started wars against art using strategies such as censorship, destruction of artworks, or the use of violent and non-violent repression against artists. But why do political leaders fear art? What makes art so dangerous that even when it’s not criticizing governments, it can still become the target of oppression?

Because art is powerful. A work of art is created by an individual or a group of artists, but at the same time, it is also emerging from specific societal structures. It is promoting new ideas, perspectives and values which, most of the time, are in contradiction to the ones accepted by those in power. The avant-garde art of the 20th century was experimenting with nontraditional themes, which were too unorthodox for Nazi Germany. Expressionism, Cubism, Surrealism and Dadaism were all artistic movements which were “insulting the German feeling.” Several (not only Jewish) artists were imprisoned or killed, and thousands of paintings and sculptures were destroyed during the Third Reich. A “degenerate art exhibition” was held in 1937, where the Nazis ridiculed the new artistic movements, calling the artists “degenerates” lacking in artistic skill, who were there only to destroy the new values of the Übermensch.

During the creative process, beside the artists’ ideas, the historical context, and the values and norms of the community for which the product is created, are also important. Because of this, a work of art is not only depicting the subject chosen by the artist, but it is also reproducing and/or criticizing general feelings present in the society. At the beginning of the 20th century, Socialism was gaining popularity in the US. Workers went on strikes and even some Socialist policies were implemented. But for those in power, Socialism felt like a threat against freedom and democracy, leading to the “Red Scare,” and after WWII, to McCarthy’s Communist witch hunt. Because of this, during the 20th century in the US, there was a constant fight against Socialist ideas in politics, but also in art. For example, the works of the Mexican muralists Rivera and Siqueiros were destroyed for being critical of Capitalism. Also in the McCarthyism period, several movies, actors, and directors were subjected to censorship for allegedly sympathizing with Communist ideas. The Hollywood blacklist was created with the purpose of listing the names of those who might sympathize with Socialist ideas and, because of this, should not get funding or employment. Financial control over artists is happening even today. For example, the National Endowment for the Arts in the US refused on several occasions to fund artists who were creating more controversial art.

There is no need for artists to have a political agenda to infuriate those in power

An artist is just like a journalist, reporting the realities of society, presenting sometimes disputed ideas about beauty, normality, leadership, or the future. That’s the reason why countless times, artwork was banned from some countries or regions. The movie Brokeback Mountain was banned in many countries in the Middle East for depicting homosexual relations. The Oscar-winning The Danish Girl was also banned in many countries for depicting “moral depravity.” Like it or not, these taboo topics are part of our society, and just because we bury our heads in the sand, or our leaders are trying to “protect” us from them, they will not stop existing. Art is really powerful in starting conversations. Maybe sometimes a piece of art is too offensive, too sexual, too brutal for our taste, that it will force us to think about some issues which are part of our realities—and that’s definitely something those in power would like to stop from happening.

And so art can shape the political discourse, can initiate conversations in the society, and can start political and social movements. Sex Pistols’s infamous song, God Save The Queen, was banned for a very long time from UK radio for containing anti-establishment messages. The singers from the punk band Pussy Riot were, on several occasions, attacked by policemen and imprisoned for their performances which were criticizing Russian oligarchs. Through punk’s nihilistic views, a radical leftist movement was created criticizing social conventions, political idealism and existing power structures. The representatives of pop culture influence consumers more than ever, not only through their work but also using other platforms, such as social media. Also, artists’ personal lives and values are more public nowadays, which is creating problems when they want to perform in certain countries which are sensitive to some topics. For example, the English rock band Oasis was banned from performing in China in 2009 for sympathizing in the 90's with the Free Tibet movement.

These examples show how powerful art can be, even when it’s not centred on political issues. They are showing how every form of art can become political, sometimes because it is discussing taboo topics, while other times because of the artists’ personal values. There is no need for artists to have a political agenda to infuriate those in power, who are then capable of starting wars just to silence freedom of expression. “All art is an uncommitted crime;” all art is challenging the status quo. Art has the power to fight the political establishment, to change our understanding over some concepts such as normality, to destroy social conventions. Because of this, those in power will always feel threatened by the amazing influence art is having on society. So it is important to bear in mind that art is creating movements, exploring new ideas and reporting realities, and for this reason, it has to be protected so it can continue its work on fighting the status quo and changing the world.

Sources:

Art Attack with Lizy Dastin and Justin BUA. Spotify. Podcast.

Denham, Jess. “ The Danish Girl banned in Qatar on grounds of ‘moral depravity’.” The Independent.

History. “The BBC bans the Sex Pistols’ “God Save the Queen”.” History, Jul 27, 2019.

McNeil, Legs and Gillian McCain. Please Kill Me. The Uncensored Oral History of Punk. New York: Grove Press, 2006.

“Banned! 22 Musicians Barred From Stepping Foot In Certain Countries.” NME, Dec 22, 2015.

Perlman, Allison. “Hollywood blacklist.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Youtube.

“How Did ‘Socialism’ Become a Dirty Word in America? | History.” Jan 4, 2019. Video, 5:46.

Zuidervaart, Lambert. “Theodor W. Adorno.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, May 5, 2003 revised on Oct 26, 2015.