Can you still enjoy the works of disgraced artists?

[SotiCoto]

There are quite a few musicians and other people in creative media who have... fallen from public grace, usually due to sexual deviancy, but sometimes just for being an arsehole to co-workers or going on constant drug benders.
But the real question is whether one can still appreciate their works even when we know the one making them was a bit of a nasty piece of work...

I think the stand out example for me would be John Kricfalusi who was the creator of the Ren & Stimpy Show, which I watched a LOT in the 1990s...

Well, he was a perfectionist arsehole, made life hell for a lot of people, and apparently also was sexually grooming teenagers. Yeah. I've tried not to let this sour my opinion of Ren & Stimpy though, since it was genuinely good stuff...

And if you want a more extreme example... I think Adolf Hitler's paintings are actually pretty good, personally.

But hey... maybe others don't want to listen to music made by paedophiles, cartoons drawn by arseholes, or paintings by tyrannical dictators. What do you think?

[NamerOfStars]

Accusations are just accusations; it's very rare that those accused of sexual impropriety are actually proved guilty. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but I'm not going to condemn someone, even just within my own regard, without real evidence- doing otherwise is how we get cases like Emmett Till and the Salem witch trials. Hell, doing it without understanding the circumstances is how we get cases like Bill Cosby and Ray Rice. Modern attitudes about women are so hopelessly backward that defending yourself against one who's attacking you while you're stuck in an elevator and unable to escape still gets condemnation.

Simply being a jerkass is a different matter, and only so much of one; perfectionism can lead to fantastic results, and if you can't keep up...

The funny thing about Hitler's paintings, from what I've seen of them, is that it's mostly technical things he's lacking in- exactly the sort of stuff you'd learn at art school. Kind of makes you wonder.

[handsomelad70]

Rice was caught on camera beating his woman, and Cosby's conviction was warranted. When I was a little boy, Australia's unofficial national anthem was "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport, by Rolf Harris, who had his many awards and titles rescinded when he was convicted of molesting children since just after World War Two. (Harris, who died last May 10 at 93, spent only several years in prison for his crimes,, but was totally ostracized upon his release, with "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport" disappearing from the airwaves. Another reason the song became taboo was its racist allusions to Indigenous Australians, fitting because the bigoted Harris frequently disparaged the Aborigines' industry, intelligence and hygiene.)

[NamerOfStars]

@handsomelad70 Ray Rice was caught on camera beating A WOMAN WHO FOLLOWED HIM INTO AN ELEVATOR. That's not a situation you can walk away from; his violence was warranted- excessive, perhaps, but warranted.

Cosby gave drugs to willing women with the understanding that they'd then have sex in that altered state; he testified as much under promise that it wouldn't be used against him in other court proceedings, since it's still pretty sketchy. It was then used against him in other court proceedings. Not only was his conviction unwarranted, since it relied on illegally obtained evidence, his imprisonment for is, as per US law, illegal.

You've got to lose the idea of women as inherently helpless and devoid of agency, dude.

[handsomelad70]

Dude, I'm 70 years old and don't need to be patronized by a half-wit like you. A six-two,225-pound football player beating a woman who followed him into an elevator (she's now his wife) IS STILL AN ASSAULT unless she gave him reason to believe his person was endangered by a weapon.
I've never heard this story about Cosby from anyone other than you, soI'll research it. Anyway, giving drugs to even a willing woman, especially a powerful man such as Cosby is overpoweringly sick, even if not illegal, though as I just typed, I'll research your assertion.

[GuyAnswersGirls123]

I'm an extreme case of separating the art from the artist. I don't even like the art of very questionable artists but the nature of the artist contributes less to my appreciation of art in general.

For example, with my favorite music, I rarely like more than one or two songs from an artist. I'm just not the type of person to become a fan of the artist in general. I just like a song here and there. I become fan of specific songs. I almost never become a fan of the entire artist since I don't like every single song they make.

[pig_droppings]

If we imagine their art as a festering vegetable market, the stench of decomposing fruit and vegetables intermingles with the unpleasant odor of blue cheese and rotting wood. The garbage disposal of their reputation grinds away at their once cherished creations, leaving behind the smell of burnt rubbers, mingling with the scent of vomit and gasoline. Despite this fetid backdrop, the experience of encountering their art can be akin to the experience of standing in a room full of old, moldy gym clothes. There is a sense of glory and remembrance, but it's tainted by ball sweat.

[AngryCarl]

It depends how much I know, and what I know. As a general rule I think we should view art as separate to the artist but I could never listen to lostprophets.

[AngryCarl]

On a lighter note, Ian Watkins was stabbed in jail last year. That's got to sting!

[SotiCoto]

Funnily enough, he was the second guy I thought of while writing this out.

[Anonymous]

This is why I don't want to know about these people. They are just people, and it's a certain type that wasn't such noteriety.
And before social media, curated put pieces were as much as most of us got to know.
Best to enjoy the content they put out and not get to close.

[DryGermanGuy]

I have to say I can't really enjoy movies with Kevin Spacey like I used to, ever since his disgusting predatory behavior was made public.

[exitseven]

There are lots of actors that I cannot stand to watch anymore because they are such flaming liberals. Robert DiNiro, Alex Baldwin and the list goes on.

[Posithink]

No, if they're negative humans then I only enjoy doing what makes them suffer. It's called justice. All the art you mentioned is a pile of @pig_droppings.

[lightbulb27]

yes depending what it is. im not going to enjoy something awful.

[JayBones]

It ain't art if sensitive physics aren't butthurt about it

[boobliker]

sometimes it better that way