Read, listen to, and watch the sources for the opera composers at the Websites b
ID: 453217 • Letter: R
Question
Read, listen to, and watch the sources for the opera composers at the Websites below and in this week's Music Folder. Describe the major influences that Verdi, Wagner, or Puccini exerted upon opera in terms of making it more innovative, realistic, and even controversial. Next, consider Wagner and this dilemma: Wagner's brilliance is clear because his works remain some of the most popular and admired productions in our own time. Yet, he was a blatantly antisemitic and held notions of racial purity, traits that have stained his artistic legacy. (This was compounded by the later celebration of Wagner's music by Hitler and the Nazis). New York Times writer Anthony Tommasini wrote of Wagner in 2005: "How did such sublime music come from such a warped man? Maybe art really does have the power to ferret out the best in us." So, consider the issue of whether we should or can separate the artist from the art, whether we can appreciate the art but reject the artist. Or whether we should reject both the person and his or her art. Identify one (1) modern musician or artist where this dilemma arises. "HUM 112: World Cultures II"
Explanation / Answer
What is more important the artist or his/her work? Should we expel the works of an artist due to some specific flaws in his/her character or should we treat the art work and the artist separately? These are some questions which have often stirred the minds of scholars and laymen alike in terms of judging the artwork and character of some creative geniuses. To cite such dilemma we can cite the example of Wagner, who “became an omnipotent creator who ruled over every aspect his expansive “music dramas,” which he thought of as total works of art (Gesamtkunstwerke)” (Huizenga, 2012). But Wagner still remains “a polarizing figure for his rabid anti-Semitism, freewheeling megalomania and his descendants’ ties to Adolph Hitler” (Huizenga, 2012). So, there were contradictions and errors in his character but people opted to remember his works more than his characteristic traits. The works of art have their own philosophy. A masterpiece produced by an artist can have thorough impact on the society in a positive manner. For an example, Rosenquist’s “F111” revealed before the spectators the negative side of consumerism and the horrors of the Vietnam War. People remember and still appreciate Rosenquist’s work more than his personality. This is primarily because artworks are meant to philosophize certain ideologies and adhering to the concept of “art for the sake of society”, one can surely understand how different pieces of art have always contributed to specific social developments. We can provide the example of Tracey Emin, a great artist who has been often criticized to be overtly vulgar in her representations. In her work, “Everyone I Have Slept With” “Emin used the process of appliqué to sew the names of all the people she has ever shared a bed with – including lovers; friends and family – onto the inside of a small tent” (“Tracey Emin”, n.d.). This artwork has never been criticized so vehemently as the criticism about the artist. Emin’s work revealed before the spectators the different facets of human relation including the aspect of sexuality. The work consisted of a message – a social message to be specific. And that is the reason why the artwork has been appreciated even though the character of the artist has often been questioned. So, it can be said that even though there may be some flaws in the character of an artist, his/her artworks should not be judged from such angle and the artworks should be considered good or bad according to their merits and not according to the merit of the artist who composed it.
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