this insight may seem obvious, but it only occurred to me while i was already deep into the book.
it is a necessary question though. unfortunately.
and one that divides art lovers.
some believe that art should be evaluated solely for its intrinsic merits.
others argue that an artist’s circumstances are deeply connected to the art itself—or, in dederer’s words, that their biography cannot be separated from the work.
no matter which camp you’re in, as an art lover you eventually have to make choices when that biography starts making negative headlines:
- can i still watch/stream/read/listen to/buy or otherwise consume the art?
- can i still enjoy it?
- share it?
- love it?
- should we un-love it?
- can one even un-love anything?
dederer explores these questions with varying degrees of focus and depth.
while i appreciated some of the detours into different kinds of bad people—or monsters—we as a society revere as artists, others felt more unexpected.
such as: if great art is often created by bad people, and these bad people are mostly men, what kind of ‘bad person’ does a woman have to be in order to become a great artist?
it’s a fascinating question. but over the course of three chapters, it started to feel less like a tangent and more like an off-topic narrative i didn’t realise i’d signed up for.
dederer managed to find her way back with a final chapter that does live up to the title and offers real pointers on how to make peace with all of this.
in our era of consumption, those pointers are as personal as they are collective. because who we revere as artists says at least as much about us and our society as it does about the artist and the art.
all in all, ‘monsters: what do we do with great art by bad people’ is a quick, fluid, and engaging read with a pleasantly conversational tone.
dederer’s love for art in all its forms is front and centre—as are her memoirist undertones. though in truth, they’re so strong that “undertones” might be the wrong word.
so, if you’re an art lover and/or enjoy memoirs in general, this one should be for you.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
