Aug 17, 2018 05:17 PM
https://www.smithsoniansecondopinion.org...180969653/
EXCERPT: . . . In this wide-ranging conversation with Smithsonian Second Opinion, Jay Nordlinger addresses why he hates the word "relevant" when it comes to art, what drives artists to create, and how much role the government should have in funding the arts.
[...] Does art need to be relevant to a person's life in order to be appreciated?
That's the buzzword of the day, “relevant.” I think it's one of the great nonsense words of our time. What does it mean? The Bach B Minor Mass is great. Is it relevant? I don't know. It's great. Is greatness relevant? Relevant to what? I think art can be liked and loved and appreciated. It instructs us and consoles us and thrills us and lifts us up. But this mania, this fashion, this fad for relevance is bizarre.
It's a perversion of art. I think it goes hand in hand with attempts to politicize art. A lot of people think that if something isn’t political, it doesn’t really matter. I suppose that’s what they mean by “relevant.” What's the relevance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony? Brotherhood? Well, that symphony is a lot more than that – beyond our power to put into words.
But that is art that was created centuries ago. For art that is being created today, do you think there is?
It's always “today,” right? I mean, that Ninth Symphony of Beethoven is as fresh as the day it was completed – just as immediate, communicating all those wonderful, indescribable things.
Every generation, every era, has the conceit that this time is different, that art has to be different, that art has to speak to today. The best art speaks for all time and is timeless. It's beyond time and place. Western classical music, the canon, is more popular in China and the rest of East Asia than it is anywhere else in the whole world.
Stravinsky said that you need 50 years to tell whether something is great. It has to hang around for 50 years. Well, I’m not sure I believe that. I think some things are quickly recognizable as great – while other things, to be sure, take more time.
Do you think that this idea carries over to other versions of art?
The best novels are readable in any era. Sometimes, I have to look stuff up, figure out what the heck the writer is talking about. Those things are a little different, it's true. But paintings? Sculpture? The best of that is timeless, I think.
So what is the impetus then for artists that continue to create today, if the greatest works are done already?
You build from your forebears, right? A real artist can't help making art. It's an impulsion. A a real artist must do it. He can do no other, right? He has no choice. He has to get up in the morning and do it. That's a real artist. Lesser artists, they choose to do it. They could be doctors, lawyers, insurance salesmen, teachers, whatever.
Some intellectuals choose to make art when they could be doing science or anything else. I know of many such people in music. But I think the genuine artist, the bona fide artist, the best artist, just can't help himself. Just like fish gotta swim and birds gotta fly, he's gotta make art. And that will happen in every generation till the end of time. It's never over.
MORE: https://www.smithsoniansecondopinion.org...180969653/
EXCERPT: . . . In this wide-ranging conversation with Smithsonian Second Opinion, Jay Nordlinger addresses why he hates the word "relevant" when it comes to art, what drives artists to create, and how much role the government should have in funding the arts.
[...] Does art need to be relevant to a person's life in order to be appreciated?
That's the buzzword of the day, “relevant.” I think it's one of the great nonsense words of our time. What does it mean? The Bach B Minor Mass is great. Is it relevant? I don't know. It's great. Is greatness relevant? Relevant to what? I think art can be liked and loved and appreciated. It instructs us and consoles us and thrills us and lifts us up. But this mania, this fashion, this fad for relevance is bizarre.
It's a perversion of art. I think it goes hand in hand with attempts to politicize art. A lot of people think that if something isn’t political, it doesn’t really matter. I suppose that’s what they mean by “relevant.” What's the relevance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony? Brotherhood? Well, that symphony is a lot more than that – beyond our power to put into words.
But that is art that was created centuries ago. For art that is being created today, do you think there is?
It's always “today,” right? I mean, that Ninth Symphony of Beethoven is as fresh as the day it was completed – just as immediate, communicating all those wonderful, indescribable things.
Every generation, every era, has the conceit that this time is different, that art has to be different, that art has to speak to today. The best art speaks for all time and is timeless. It's beyond time and place. Western classical music, the canon, is more popular in China and the rest of East Asia than it is anywhere else in the whole world.
Stravinsky said that you need 50 years to tell whether something is great. It has to hang around for 50 years. Well, I’m not sure I believe that. I think some things are quickly recognizable as great – while other things, to be sure, take more time.
Do you think that this idea carries over to other versions of art?
The best novels are readable in any era. Sometimes, I have to look stuff up, figure out what the heck the writer is talking about. Those things are a little different, it's true. But paintings? Sculpture? The best of that is timeless, I think.
So what is the impetus then for artists that continue to create today, if the greatest works are done already?
You build from your forebears, right? A real artist can't help making art. It's an impulsion. A a real artist must do it. He can do no other, right? He has no choice. He has to get up in the morning and do it. That's a real artist. Lesser artists, they choose to do it. They could be doctors, lawyers, insurance salesmen, teachers, whatever.
Some intellectuals choose to make art when they could be doing science or anything else. I know of many such people in music. But I think the genuine artist, the bona fide artist, the best artist, just can't help himself. Just like fish gotta swim and birds gotta fly, he's gotta make art. And that will happen in every generation till the end of time. It's never over.
MORE: https://www.smithsoniansecondopinion.org...180969653/