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Essay
The Railway
Poet
Predigested
thought and prejudice against the emerging artist
1. This
Essay serves as a stereotypical treatment of the artist
dilemma regarding his status in society and the perception of
him/her in the community and his vocation.
1.1 Proletariat
Being poetic can
be daunting when the dinner table is attended by those that
do not share your art sensibilities.
This has always fascinated me in the proletariat socio-
economic environment I was brought up in and the views my
community had towards poetry, art and particularly classical
music.
These toiling workers had a deep seated suspicion towards
any person that had a sincere interest in these faculties.
Such a person was immediately awarded the silent label of
weird, prententious or even snobbish.
The workers class community subconsciously and collectively
decided that these refined tastes belonged to the
bourgeoisie and high class societies because it was assumed
some education was required to appreciate these activities.
That it was a frivolous activity they could not relate to
because they did not have the inclination, resources or
recreational time to get involved in such projects.
Most children’s early ambitions withered away when such a
thought was entertained in an open conversation and the
parents reprimanded such a boy or girl for thinking such a
ridiculous vocation as art.
Art was further seen as nonsensical and according to them
clear evidence of not being an honorable and pragmatic
solution to earn a livelihood or to maintain your survival.
That hard labor in a shipping yard or at an industrial
factory was more advisable.
Most of them gave the artistic vocational idea up and
suppressed such an expectation and became themselves the
most vicious advocates against such a desire. Or it became a
secret passion that never optimally realized itself and
remained in drawers and hidden between the underpants and
when found by the missus embarrassment.
1.2 The
Bourgeoisie:
Art and poetics
was always a very hip and stylish lounge conversation for
the contemporary middle upper class society and in depth
knowledge and understanding of it was a sign of
intelligence, merit and good taste.
The ulterior reasons were therefore sometimes clear and no
wonder the proletariat had an issue with this because it was
thought to be permeated with hypocrisy and pettiness.
The Bourgeoisie saw the certain ego benefit to it and that
it enhanced their elitism and also strengthened their social
network with more influential individuals in society that
had strong interest in aesthetics. The bourgeois was rarely
practitioners but more appropriately appreciators of the
Arts and culture of the day and then yet again most probably
for social-financial reasons more then aesthetic reasons.
1.3 The Artist
under fire:
The bourgeoisie
shared with the proletariat the suspicion against the
artistic vocation or at least in his own stakeholder sphere
in that he guided his boy politely away from such ideas and
rather nudged him further to consider a career in law or
banking. He strongly counseled his daughter to steer away
from any serious marital relationship with an emerging poet
or painter and told her the bohemia lifestyle was a life of
hardship. (This may also give insight into the alleged
tendency of the artist to be promiscuous par excellence!)
The proletariat at least was honest that he was clueless and
remained robustly indifferent to such a craft but that the
bourgeoisie was the first one that boasted that he purchased
tickets to the theater for a Hendrik Ibsen play or to the
exhibition of Vincent Van Gogh’s Flemish landscape paintings
with the aristocratic mingling.oppertunities for future
tenders.
Prejudice is then on both sides of the same coin and what
does the emerging artist do and who is his real patrons and
benefactors to his effort?
1.4 The creative
career under fire: guilt or gratification:
It is further
posed that the truth is deeper then the financial
feasibility and sustainability but it is a main driver that
steers away from art as a conventional work.
That the proletariat feels subconsciously guilty and
inadequate towards art and those that consider the practice
of art professionally or even recreationally, guilt that he
is unable to access its self realization benefits and that
he does not perceive any pragmatic or recreational benefit
in its application or appreciation .
That the bourgeoisie only sees the recreational and
gratification benefits in art and also doubts its pragmatic
application. Further benefit can still be considered for
investing in art for revenue purposes but insofar vocation
in the field certain bourgeoisie sees no security and
considers it an unacceptably high risk to take.
1.5 The artist as
outsider:
The artist
cannot resort to any of these stereotypes and is forced to
reinvent himself in such way not antagonize his patrons. He
goes so far as Zola and studies their behavior in the
naturalist tradition and serves it back to them for their
entertainment or sheer disgust.
The serious artist also measures them regarding their
sincere interest in his work and has an intrinsic suspicion
towards their deficiencies and ulterior motives towards his
work!
He will be never be part of their societal groupings and may
be admired, seen as a charlatan or some kind of mystic witch
doctor that invokes the muse for his productivity
It is interesting how carefree children and rebellious
teenagers worship artists and this actually should serve as
a further cue for in depth exploration and investigation.
1.6 Essayist
note:
The opinion
contained in this essay is not cast in stone and the logical
fallacy of “all and some” grandly prevails here. It is hoped
that it will spur constructive debates in cafes and
libraries and other gathering points between those
interesting people’s coined artists!
1.7 Sources:
My own
experience
Research on the life of Vincent Van Gogh
Research on the life of Hendrik Ibsen, A Dolls house,
Penguin Classics
Survey of the two mentioned social groups regarding their
perception
Of the artistic career
Poems
The
yellow wood
Sitting
in a tree
hiding a away
looking down at that
negligent place
certainty
rose in the old
yellow wood tree
grapping hold
swaying and fondling
a boys fear
the rising sun reaching
with glory fingers
pinching his cheeks to
a quivering smile.
Crying
As I walked past
aunt Bracales apartment
a sad aria
strains under
a crackling vinyl voice
who is this diva?
knocking on her stained
window panes
imagining
the old widow
staring
at her Kodak sepia
hero
the old widow
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