Re:George Orwell: Why I Write (1946)
by e12e on Monday June 16, 2014 @09:13PM
(#7902372)
From The Devil's Dictionary (1881-1906) [devil]:
> POLITICS, n. A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.
On a more serious note, I tend to agree with Orwell. Works of art (prose, paintings, photographs) are largely defined not by what they contain, but what they leave out.
Consciously or unconsciously they represent a form of distilled reality that will inherently expose how the creator sees the world (or perhaps rather: how the author observes the world; what he notices).
How is this political? Any rational person decides what should be done based on what is -- if you perceive reality to be different, you will come up with different explanations for why things are the way they are, and more importantly how and why they should change. Do you look at images from the World Soccer Championship in Brazil and see a merry sport festival? Or do you see thousands on the streets demonstrating for the right to a decent life?
I agree that not all art should be (or is) intentionally or overtly political, but I also think that it is right to claim that all art, on some level is political, in the sense that they impart the artists view (and connected feelings) of the world to those that experience the work.
At any rate, I find it hard to disagree with the the concrete quote you picked: Isn't discussing how art and politics interact an aspect of politics?
> POLITICS, n. A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.
On a more serious note, I tend to agree with Orwell. Works of art (prose, paintings, photographs) are largely defined not by what they contain, but what they leave out.
Consciously or unconsciously they represent a form of distilled reality that will inherently expose how the creator sees the world (or perhaps rather: how the author observes the world; what he notices).
How is this political? Any rational person decides what should be done based on what is -- if you perceive reality to be different, you will come up with different explanations for why things are the way they are, and more importantly how and why they should change. Do you look at images from the World Soccer Championship in Brazil and see a merry sport festival? Or do you see thousands on the streets demonstrating for the right to a decent life?
I agree that not all art should be (or is) intentionally or overtly political, but I also think that it is right to claim that all art, on some level is political, in the sense that they impart the artists view (and connected feelings) of the world to those that experience the work.
At any rate, I find it hard to disagree with the the concrete quote you picked: Isn't discussing how art and politics interact an aspect of politics?
[devil]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Devil's_Dictionary
[edit: On a somewhat related note (by virtue of dealing with writing, and being written by Orwell) see also:
George Orwell: "Politics and the English Language"
https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/orwell46.htm ]