gulley@stolaf.UUCP (01/30/84)
Oh, come on now, that's taking it more than a bit too far; ' (1) I saw nothing in the quoted remark that directly implied that ALL financial gain resulting from artistic endeavors is evil. There's a difference between financial gain received as a by- product of expressing yourself, and financial gain received as a result of making it the end in itself. The difference is not in the money, but in the artist, and what he/she "pan- dered" to in creating the piece. As for Eno and Rampal, you're speaking after the fact- they have already acheived sizable financial gains, to a lesser or greater extent, without sac- rificing the essence of what they've worked for all along, or being pushed around by "the taint of *gasp* financial success". Since you've got to pander to someone in creating and selling art, and since the whole idea is to impress someone into liking it enough to buy it, you might as well pander to yourself, since that's the only person you REALLY know how to impress. (And you generally have the best chance of succeeding if you really know what you're doing.) (2) Religious painting is a artistic form, like rock, that many artists can work under without plagiarizing. Michelangelo obviously liked the form, and made his own valid contribution to it. He didn't parrot anyone, any more than I parrot some- one else in the act of speaking English. (But if I say the same sentences over and over, however. .) (3) Saying what you feel, and and at least attempting to give valid reasons for it, is not considered "stupid" anywhere except in Communist Russia. It's not disclaiming the integrity of the other person to speak your mind (as long as it's done in a civil manner), it's simply doing likewise. If you don't like what the person is saying, don't read or respond to it. William Gulley . . !ihnp4!stolaf!gulley (3)