|
I have to agree with JG, if only in
principle...
A masterpeice, that is brilliance, is a striving,
a commitment to an ideal, an effort worthy of note...something which goes beyond
an idea of an aesthetic quality and plums the very depths of achievment; an
expression which is timeless and also without comparison in it's genre. This is
*above* populism or elitism.
RE: The Way I read Artaud, (and if I recall the
essay correctly)the (no more) Masterpieces diatribe was directed more as
opposition to the idea that we ought to cling to the great works of the past as
a guide or standard for what ought to come next. I don't think he meant to
do away with great works completely, he just wanted to seperate the IDEA of
'creating a masterpiece' from the act of expression, freeing it from the bondage
that many artists feel to be 'successful' in what might be termed a
'conventional' way so that a 'true ' masterpiece might be born' and brilliance
be measured by the striving and honesty invested. It was much the same for
Brecht- in most of his writing about the theatre- that is, in between political
diatribe and self-promotion- he seems to be seaching for a *genuinely* shared
point of reference from which to communicate- a populist ideal .
I think it is also relevant to note that many of
us who would strive for the same result feel the same way- we want nothing so
much as to have or provide universal access to the truth we feel we have to
share, and the ideas and expressions that are so powerful, yet when it comes
right down to it, we are unable ourselves to overcome the feelings of disgust we
have for 'popular' culture-feelings which are a product of the very clarity we
have about the insipidness of most popular culture. In order to overcome
this and be able to relate to the audience, we have to address this on some
level. The only way to get away from masterpeices is to create our own and be
patient; the only way to avoid the plaugue is to recoginze wher it came from.
The most efficient way to reach the masses is to go to them and look and sound
like them, and THEN they will listen, and THEN we can say what's really on our
minds...
Skip
----- Original Message -----
|