Welcome to Litsy!

A meditation on how the personal lives of artists impact our view of them as fans. Once we know horrible things about a person (Picasso, Cosby, etc.), how can we still enjoy their art? The author questioning both herself and others in the way to process the hardest contradictions. It‘s complicated and doesn‘t shy away from the conflicting things we feel. I was fascinated and left thinking about the debate for days.

Picked this up on a whim thinking it was going to be a salacious, who‘s who of cancelled celebrity wrong-uns and their crimes. It‘s better than that. It‘s about fandom & the sticky problem “separating the art from the artist”. We see how artists/men behaving badly are given a bye due to their “genius”, while female counterparts are labeled “monsters” for different reason. It‘s all done through a post-modern, Marxist-feminist lens. A great critique

For about 60% of this book I was engrossed and having lots of conversations with myself about the contents. Then it sort of lost its way for me. There are lots of good discussion points, though no answers. We will all have our personal perspectives on many of these things. But a woman being mentally ill and killing herself (child abandonment) and a man drugging and raping a 13yr old are not comparable. I‘ll let you guess who.

Yep.

#tonight #poetrymatters @TheSpineView

⭐️⭐️💫 I finished this and I have thoughts… mainly I think she lost her thread or needed to better define “monster”. The book starts with her conflicted feelings of what to do with the art of child rapists but then moves to a version of “we‘re all monsters” by which she means women artists want space from their children to create? It felt like a false equivalence of monstrosity=any imperfections. If everyone is a monster then no one is. 👇

@fredthemoose called it right ,it can be tedious because she analyzes it from all angles.Still, I can come away that I do still respect the art of some people I don‘t respect as human beings.Will I support them with my dollars anymore, probably not.That doesn‘t make me or them better people though. I thought about Alice Neel ,I love her paintings, her life was more difficult for her kids & herself, there‘s even a doc about that.Kids get their say.

I really wanted and expected to like this, but I‘m close to halfway through and am just finding it so… tedious…
😒

What to do with the art of monstrous men?

This hooked me. It‘s a book I knew I was reading too fast but I also didn‘t want to put it down. Love her voice, her slippery writing. It‘s smart and thought provoking but also beautiful and personal.

This question comes up so many times with my friends I kind of want to have this book on hand to give out.

Oh, maybe that‘s what I‘ll do for Christmas. 🎄

Can you love the art of an artist who is or was a monster? It‘s a question I think most of us ask ourselves and others.

Personally I love the Harry Potter books, even though I feel morally conflicted by Rowling‘s politics. And Michael Jackson‘s music will always live in my head.

This explores that huge question and different ways of looking at the answers and why our emotions vary on the topic. Very well thought out!