1 post tagged “aesthetics”

"'Give us,' they say, 'something even pock-marked, but our own.' This is false and untrue. A pock-marked art is no art and is therefore not necessary to the working masses. Those who believe in a 'pock-marked' art are imbued to a considerable extent with contempt for the masses." - Trotsky

I like the best things. I always have. The only difference is that I believe that I can define what is "best" by my standards, and not the standards that have been given to me. So, when I champion so-called "Punk", bear in mind that is a label other people put on it. I still view it as the finest in rock and roll music. When I talk about socialism, people imagine that I'm thinking of factory workers, dressed in grey boiler suits, eating gruel, and hearing bullhorns crackling out orders. What they don't seem to understand is that I am actually talking about the finest moments in humanity, like your fondest memory of a family dinner.

The quote I'm leading off with here is from an essay of Art criticism that Trotsky wrote. While I don't share Trotsky's revolutionary vision, I agree with the man more than I disagree about how people are. When people imagine politically motivated Art, aesthetics, and culture, they think of identity first. This is all wrong. People like grafitti art not because it's "from the streets". They like it because it's beautiful. I don't like bad folk art, I don't like bad rock and roll, and i don't like bad politics, or bad culture. I like the finest there is, by my standards.

But, likewise, I don't fall for second rate, "pock marked" stuff, just because somebody says it's "punk' or "socialist' or "working class" or whatever other descriptor is supposed to make me identify with their product. Ultimately, i think Trotsky is right about that, too. Giving me trash that you've labelled as something I'll like shows enormous contempt for me.

Just a little something you can think about the next time somebody tells you what you should like.