Where art thou capital A Art?
Cartoons are better than art. Discuss. (repost from Apr. 14, 2024)
Cartoons are definitely better than art. Cartoons are well drawn and witty. Cartoonists are talented and very smart. Art by comparison is dry and boring, pedantic, and these days, preachy. And as for artists, nobody likes a scold.
But then again, when a cartoon, cooking, or anything really, gets super good, surpasses itself, we say it becomes “art.” What do we make of this apparent contradiction?
Let’s ask Michel Foucault. Foucault (a super famous philosopher, quite possibly also an artist) recalls an ancient Greek term, parrhesia, that describes a kind of fearless speech, a means of expressing oneself openly and honestly, even at great personal risk. This fearless speech is not reckless, says Foucault, but is guided by a sense of duty towards the truth and the common good. [Ref.] [Ref. 2]
What are we to make then of cartoonists, jesters, fools and clowns? And of the idea of truth serving the common good?
Great comedians are imho truth tellers; they bring up complicated things that make us uncomfortable (truth) and get us to laugh about them (common good). Art, and some political speech, can also broach difficult issues, but only rarely do we experience an aha moment (as in, “You know what? You are right about that. You’ve changed my mind.”) let alone guffaw.
Kings and presidents of grocery store chains (and countries), Machiavelli said, need fearless truth tellers within their ranks. Fools and court jesters can help a monarch see straight but also keep at bay the endless line of usurpers and meddlers.
But in the pulpit or on the soapbox? Those are not really places for poking fun, mocking or humiliation. Late night talk show hosts think they are changing the world when really they are just in the bias confirmation business. Which is seriously not funny.
Like all things, I suppose, it’s a spectrum; from the jackass and the banana peel to the fabled Cassandra who could only tell the truth only to never be believed.
Foucault got this much right, those Greeks sure knew something about truth and human nature. Cassandra was doomed to be able to see the future but to have no effect. Joke’s on us.
Today’s (April 14, 2024) drawing above is loosely based on a famous Polish painting, shown below.
Did you know that sad clown is a psychiatric meme? Why are we not surprised.
Next post, we get back to conservative aesthetics. See ya’ then.