Art and its Audience
Art and its relationship with its audience has always been an interesting relationship to me. When I first got social media, I remember following lots of art accounts. But once in a while I would see an artist make a post addressing their audience negatively. And it was usually about the audiences reaction to their art. Of course some people on the internet are just annoying and contratarian, I saw a few instances where artist had to shoo away some of their audience. Most of these instances were random people finding the art, being annoying, and causing trouble.
But there were some instances I didn't understand at first. Such as artist asking people for refraining from making requests or suggestions for works or opposing people asking for advice or tutorials. I was young and would've been ecstatic for someone to be interested in my work, but I understand now that some artist re very protective of their work.
But the more strange the world gets, the relationship an audience can have with a work seems more and more complicated.
Parasocial relationships between artists and audience have always existed, but a means to interact with a famous artist was nearly non existent for the everyday person for a long time. But now social media, tours, and pop culture in general blur lines. With lots of life being online, and online being very accessible, developing and believing in parasocial relationships is much easier.
But even that relationship itself must be questioned. To receive a work as it was presented and meant to be sometimes feels like the purest form to experience. But now with people presenting edits to scenes and writing their own alternate stories, the creativity and quality that may result are surely a blessing.
Additionally, I have wondered about how behind the scenes information or information about the artist personally should be taken. I used to put a lot of value in how a artist sees their own work, or about the artist themselves when evaluating how I liked a piece. If a artist believed a worked I liked to be their worst work, it honestly changed how I viewed it. Or if I found the artist to be a person I personally disliked, it also changed how I viewed the art. In my head, the person that would most understand, have the most insight into, and held the most valuable opinion of a piece of art would be the artist that created the piece. But this also created a lot of frustration for me if it didn't turn out as I liked
Then comes the self evident struggle of trying to understand an audience. The same idea that the artist most understands their work can light a fire of obsession in some fans. They become so obsessed with an artist to "gain insight" they become stalkers. And in the modern day, people have disgusting obsessions and inappropriate collections of artists they "love". But sometimes even when I just read biographies it felt like I was putting the work into a new light I was never meant to. Additionally, even reading a work could be guilt inducing. If a work was never meant to be released, how dare we experience them? They are just people, how can we betray someone in a way so terribly human, a base part of our souls, through art? For example, is it not disgusting as humans we read Kafka's letters?
But one concept changed everything for me. That the experience between a person and a piece of art is unique and so intrinsically has worth. Once art is created, art is no longer solely the artists, but it is now its own thing. And in making art, the artist has to accept this as possibility of presentation brings in factors that intrinsically cant be controlled (though in private things not necessarily meant to be art or be presented ever I don't know how this idea holds).
The experience an average joe has watching a movie is just as much an experience as the one the director or screenplay writer had. It may not have the same depth or understanding, but its an experience nonetheless. And just by virtue of being a unique experience, it is special and worth having interest in and putting value into.
As a result, I have comfortably grown interest in things I never would have otherwise. Like anime even if many other enjoyers are nasty weirdos. And I could have confidence in opinions I would have felt guilty of in the past. I would have felt torn to like Han Solo as a character even if Harrison Ford thought he sucked, and proud for liking Saruman since Christopher Lee liked the character. But now I like that I have my own ideas about the characters. And since I have had to form my own rationales to like them, I am more satisfied with my opinions of them.
Im still not sure about the argument of separating art from its artist when the artist becomes evil or is revealed to be so. But the relationship a person has with art is totally their own, totally unique, and because of those things totally rich with things to consider. Comparing and contrasting the opinions of others and mine has been much more fun and fulfilling than researching the way the author intended for their work to be experienced and obeying. Its so interesting that each of us can have our own experience of art.
ps sorry for writing such long ass posts lately lol.