Art and Freedom

by Gerard Emershaw

"Poppies Forever" ©2013 Stephanie Lynne Schmidt

 

On May 10, 1933, university students in Nazi Germany burned over 25,000 volumes of “un-German” books. The Nazis did not just ban and burn books. The totalitarian regime banned countless art forms and sent many artists to concentration camps:

The designation “Entartete Kunst” or “Degenerate Art” was applied to virtually all modern art including abstract art and a-tonal music, to all works produced by Jewish artists (living or dead), to contemporary American popular art, to art that was thought to undermine German or Aryan cultural ideals, to art that did not support the war effort. In addition to a large number of Jewish musicians, painters, writers, and others imprisoned in the camps, some of the most universally-loved and greatest works of art by Jewish artists were banned.

The Soviet Union likewise engaged in pervasive censorship of art. Pornographic images were banned and historical photographs that proved embarrassing to the regime were censored by having individuals “disappeared.” For example, “enemies of the state” such as Trotsky were removed from photographs. The Soviet government also strictly censored printed matter, film, radio, and television. Art forms such as Impressionism and Cubism were censored because they were viewed as “decadent” and “bourgeois” Classical music with themes not approved by the government was banned as was jazz and avant garde music. Rock music was banned. During the height of Beatlemania, not only were Beatles records banned in the Soviet Union, but electric guitars were as well. The Soviet regime mandated and promoted “Socialist realism” across the arts. This was propagandistic art which glorified the working classes and delivered the political doctrine of communism.

Despots have always feared and loathed art. The rise of highly technological totalitarian regimes in the 20th century allowed dictators to widely censor art as never before. Plato can be viewed as the intellectual architect of totalitarianism. His Republic is one of the earliest and most chilling blueprints for a totalitarian collectivist society. Plato viewed what we call reality as nothing but a copy of the true underlying reality of the Forms. For Plato art in all its varieties was nothing but a copy of a copy of true reality. Such a perversion of reality was seen as a dangerous and corrupting force. Because of this metaphysical dogma, Plato advocated censorship of art and the banning of most representational art—whether literary, dramatic, sculptural, painted, or musical.

What is it about art in all its forms that is seen as so dangerous to statist collectivist dictators? Overt political writings with messages that threaten the dogmas of the regime are obviously forms of art that totalitarian governments would seek to censor. However, much of what was targeted by the Nazis and Soviets had nothing to do with politics. For example, a recording of a jazz instrumental or a Cubist painting pose no obvious threat to the doctrines of fascism or Marxism. The answer is that the Nazis and Soviets understood that the true threat of art is the freedom of thought that its production and enjoyment encourage and unleash.

Staring at an empty canvas, a blank page, a blinking cursor on an empty computer screen, an unformed lump of clay, a blank sheet of staff paper, a block of wood, or any collection of raw materials, the artist (or artisan or craftsman) enjoys the kind of complete and utter freedom that would typically be reserved to gods. While all forms of art typically involve materials and tools, in an important sense all artistic endeavor is a form of creation ex nihilo. From his or her mind, the artist brings life. In the imagination, anything is possible, and when one realizes that anything is possible in the mind, soon one realizes that anything is possible in the world. When artists and art lovers viscerally feel that anything is possible, they are no longer so willing to accept things the way that they are. A disdain for an oppressive status quo and a desire for change are always the twin enemies of despotism.

Art is deeply connected with what it is to be human. Art is connected with thoughts, emotions, sensations, memories, concepts, morality, and memes in countless ways. Artistic expression and experience connects each of these components of human experience to one other and to the world in infinite ways. When such human horizons are continually broadened through creativity, human beings become more human and less prone to being transformed into collectivized automatons. Even slaves cannot fully be enslaved as long as they can be intellectually and spiritually free through art. The spirituals sung by American slaves prior to emancipation shows how the cruel masters could control the body but could not control the spirit.  

The artistic process is inevitably an expression of deep individualism. It becomes nearly impossible for any true artist to be collectivized. A musician playing even the most familiar tune will ultimately end up breathing new and individualized life into the piece. Consider Jimi Hendrix’s rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” during the 1969 Woodstock festival or John Coltrane’s 1961 version of “My Favorite Things.” Put simply, art opens up a Pandora’s Box of individualism. George Orwell understood this when writing his novel Nineteen Eight-Four. In that novel, Oceanian “art” was produced by machines called versificators. These machines produced mindless novels, magazines, tunes, and movies. In order to dehumanize and collectivize the people completely, it would be necessary to take humanity out of art. Even if it were possible for computers to write novels, films, songs, etc. and to produce paintings, sculptures, crafts, etc., the works which these machines would produce—even if they resembled the work of human hacks—would only inspire human beings to create their own art. Freedom of thought and freedom of expression become nearly impossible for even the most despotic governments to completely thwart and artistic expression proves to be the most immortal form of free speech.

Art promotes freedom. This is true even in the economic sphere. Consider all of the industries which have collapses in the United States. Even the once mighty automotive industry had to seek a bailout during the current recession. Despite the economic collapse, industries tied into the arts did not require bailouts. American movies, television shows, music, video games, and books remain among the nation’s most lucrative domestic industries as well as most lucrative exports. While the economic downturn had a negative effect on many art museums and forced some to sell works of art in order to remain open, widespread closures of museums did not occur, and wonderfully creative new works continue to be produced each day.

Some may lament that turning art completely into a commodity has somehow cheapened it. Others may lament that capitalism has led to the popularization of loud, dumb movies, silly reality television shows, violent video games, pulp “beach” novels, mindless pop music, and crass paintings and sculptures. However, the truth is that the cream often rises to the top in the worlds of art and pop culture. The work that is most critically acclaimed often becomes popular. When acclaimed work does not become popular, more often than not, it nevertheless becomes profitable. Even when it does not, the success of the entertainment industry as a whole has caused entertainment corporations to seek to satisfy tastes of all kinds in all sorts of niches. As a result, fans of all forms of art and all genres within each form are more likely to have access to art that inspires them. Modern technologies such as the internet have allowed art to become even more widely accessible to more and more people.  

Some may complain that Americans are far too entertained and that the amount of entertainment that they seek through the arts becomes akin to Roman bread and circuses. While at times Americans ignore important events which are occurring in the world because of entertainment induced myopia, overall the effect of art is positive. Many artists use the arts in order to educate and inform. The entertainment industries produce wealth and create opportunity and jobs. Most importantly, art makes human beings more human, and true human beings are difficult if not impossible to fully dehumanize.