I think what people mean when they say “my art isn’t political” more often than not is “my art isn’t politically didactic” which is like, you know, fine. - ThreadSky

devilsdoorbell.itch.io • 23 days ago

I think what people mean when they say “my art isn’t political” more often than not is “my art isn’t politically didactic” which is like, you know, fine.

Reposted from Josh Scherr

"My [art] isn't political" can be translated as:
A. I'm boring
B. I'm full of shit
C. I'm a coward
D. I'm tacitly endorsing the status quo
E. All of the above

Comments

drabraxas.bsky.social•23 days ago

I think about this a lot. I know we can place art/artists in a political context and overlapping intersectionality exists, but sometimes a thing is just that thing. Someone's digital painting of a kitty necromancer need not be instructive or provide comment on the global dumpster fire.

devilsdoorbell.itch.io•22 days ago

I know it will catch me heat but I genuinely do not believe every single facet of human existence is “politics.” I’m sure some theoryhead can tell me why I’m stupid and wrong

drabraxas.bsky.social•22 days ago

Yeah. It's not lost on me that folks who say 'everything is political' are EXTREMELY engaged with politics. I accept the perspective and you COULD apply it anywhere, but I guess I'm too deep into 'art for the sake of art' to really believe it. I can accept being wrong, but doubt we're stupid.

devilsdoorbell.itch.io•22 days ago

I just have a hard time wrapping my mind around the idea of everything in art being political. If I decide that I’ve got an unusually pretty apple from the store and I want to paint a still life of it because it’s unusually pretty, how is that political? I accept I could be stupid but idgi

devilsdoorbell.itch.io•22 days ago

Perhaps my general political viewpoint informs why I find the apple unusually pretty and certainly buying the apple was a low grade political act, but does that make the painting itself political? I genuinely don’t know the answer to that.

drabraxas.bsky.social•22 days ago

Me neither, because I definitely believe in the notion of privilege and that my proximity/relationship to it allows me to tune out or get blind to the politics of creativity. I keep coming back to the idea of lenses through which we view the world, with no exact right one that fits all occasions.

jduckwriter.bsky.social•22 days ago

Yep. I think it's worth noting also that the author's own belief about their work's politics is next to worthless. Whether you intend it or not, your personal politics will be reflected in your work unless you go out of your way to hide them.

devilsdoorbell.itch.io•22 days ago

Sure but that’s not how most people conceive of something being “political.” Most people think of it as being pointed and didactic, not idk… an ambient byproduct of the writer’s beliefs and experiences.

jduckwriter.bsky.social•22 days ago

Right, and that's the assumption that leads to all these conversations. I also think there's a strain of thought that because all art is political, artists SHOULD consciously set out to create a predetermined political message in their art. Which, honestly, sounds exhausting.

devilsdoorbell.itch.io•22 days ago

Exhausting to make and exhausting to engage with tbh. Didacticism is fine in fables and fairytales—even charming, in its way—but I don’t wanna read a whole novel or watch a whole movie or play a whole video game solely designed to tell me how I should think or feel

jduckwriter.bsky.social•22 days ago

For me the exception is the Wolfenstein games. They hit you over the head with their political message, but I still love it, because it's a message we need right now.

devilsdoorbell.itch.io•22 days ago

I will forgive something for being didactic if it is also very cool and fun

devilsdoorbell.itch.io•23 days ago

If this is in specific response to the Terrifier director like whatever, fuck him, but I don’t think everyone who doesn’t conceive of their own work as being political is just a dumb chud who doesn’t stand for anything.

joshscherr.bsky.social•22 days ago

I agree w/the point in your quote post & mine was very specifically in reference to Terrifier guy. I suppose if I'd given it a few minutes more thought, I would've written "can often be translated" instead of "can be translated." And/or included his statement as an image.

devilsdoorbell.itch.io•22 days ago

Yeah I only realized after I quoted that it was probably about the Terrifier guy, in which case that is the exact correct translation. I just don’t think it’s universally applicable, especially given the way the average person conceives of “politics”

joshscherr.bsky.social•22 days ago

It's a tricky topic, certainly not one to be worked out on BlueSky, but in my mind, art is inherently political, even if it's not didactic - perhaps a better term would be "point of view." And maybe it's bc I work in games, I'm a little tired of the "keep politics out of ---" crowd & I reacted

devilsdoorbell.itch.io•22 days ago

The funny thing with the “keep politics out of x” crowd is they have yet another definition of political, which simply means “anything I don’t like”

joshscherr.bsky.social•22 days ago

Anyway, thanks for making me take a breath for a second; been thinking a lot about politics lately for some reason 🫠

sheamcc2.bsky.social•22 days ago

NGL their is part of me that wishes the people who are mad about this type of thing would save their energy for things with actual shitty politics like Scream 7 instead of wasting it on this dude.

devilsdoorbell.itch.io•22 days ago

I fully don’t give a fuck about the Terrifier director, he’s a dumb loser

sheamcc2.bsky.social•22 days ago

Honestly from what I've seen of those movies they're just not worth it.

devilsdoorbell.itch.io•22 days ago

I never watched them because they seem like exactly the kind of horror I enjoy least

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