John Lennon beat his first wife, T.S. Eliot was an anti-Semite; Ezra Pound a declared fascist; Woody Allen was in a relationship with the daughter of his partner Soon-Yi; Roman Polanski admitted that he had raped the 13-year-old Samantha Gailey; William Burroughs accidentally shot his wife during a drunken meeting; the French philosopher Louis Althusser strangled his wife; another French philosopher, Bernard Stiegler, robbed the bank four times and only the last attempt ended in a prison sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the classical concept of art theory, popular since the Middle Ages, being an artist and moral behavior do not stand in the order of logical implication. An artist does well when he does his work according to the rules of craftsmanship. For centuries, art has been a way of creating things properly. In the Middle Ages, the words techne <\/em>and ars <\/em>were indistinguishable, and their meaning referred to the activities of both a painter, poet and sculptor, as well as a bridge builder or shoemaker. But when today we are debating the work of a particular singer, film director or author of a book, we suddenly recall various inconvenient facts from their life. Why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The immoral art or the question of the artist\u2019s morality seems to be a typically contemporary problem, which reached its climax along with the growth of the importance of biography and the development of the fan era. For centuries, many artists have behaved horribly in their lives, only to often create something beautiful and moving. Today, however, the lack of decency in our private lives disturbs our reception of the work. It is difficult to watch, listen or read without remembering the artist\u2019s obscene vice; however, we still do it \u2013 we continue our communion with art by separating or trying to separate the artist from their work. What does this say about our culture and approach to art?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Without a doubt, Caravaggio was one of the greatest painters of the Italian Renaissance, but also a murderer who took the life of another man in a fight. Today, hardly anyone can feel discomfort and be morally indignant while admiring “The Boy with a Basket of Fruit.\u201d In addition, it is difficult to meet someone who would equate admiration for the Italian master of painting with acceptance of his life choices. This is not the case with director Woody Allen or Roman Polanski, because they still benefit from the power of their own authority and professional position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n