“Should we separate art from the artist?” has become an increasingly popular question as cancel culture continues to grow more prevalent in modern day society. Most of us would like to say that we cannot separate the two and should never support a ‘bad’ person. However, I strongly disagree.
For instance, Kanye West is definitively a misogynistic and homophobic man, however he remains to be one of my favourite singers. His album ‘Ye’ is one of the best records to be released and dominates many of my playlists. Yet, this does not mean that I hold the same values and views he does. In fact, it is quite the opposite. I do not believe that women should not be allowed to get abortions and I certainly do not believe that ‘Slavery was a choice’—but I do consider him to be a musical genius.
There is a reason why a creator gains such a large following and achieves a certain level of fame: they are talented in their territory. It would be unfair to allow pre-conceived ideas of the artist to cloud one’s judgement on the work. Take a cooking competition for example. If you were to judge the dishes, you would not ask about the chef themself or the backstory behind the food, you would decide whether you liked how it tastes. Of course, one would hope that the winner would be a good person, but it would not be fair to assess the work based on the type of person who created it. Indeed, it is more democratic and practical to separate the art.
Symphony orchestras have recognised and now employ this philosophy in their own recruiting process. In their ‘blind auditions’ they divide the judging panel and the performers with a black curtain so the board can only hear the piece the musician plays. Consequently, they have reported an increase in the number of female performers from 10% in the 70’s to 30% now. In this case, it has been beneficial to split the two.
Conversely, I would not listen to a Chris Brown song let alone anything R Kelly even featured on. These men have affected the lives of multiple women and have actively abused their power engaging in a pattern of oppressive behaviour. They are criminals who should be convicted and have their fame stripped from them. We shouldn’t allow them to have as big of an image or as much of an influence as they do and we certainly shouldn’t let them profit off of their work. Streaming their music gives them more authority and disregards the testimonies of the many brave victims who have come out against them. By supporting their work, you let them to continue to misuse their position and, in some cases, such as that of Chris Brown, give them more opportunities to take advantage of others as they know that they will face little to no repercussions.
To conclude, there is a big difference between having contrarian views and acting upon those in a way that negatively affects other people. Whilst we should not support the former, it would be daft to disregard work due to a disagreement with the creator. Whilst art is often an extension of the artist, if one understands the context behind the creator, it should be acceptable to enjoy the work. Besides, no one can argue that American Boy was not one of the best songs of the decade…
