issue 144

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ISSUE 144 - "It is the artist, not the critic,* who gives society something of lasting value."

*a person who evaluates works of art, such as novels, films, music, paintings, etc.

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The speaker asserts that it is the artist not the critic who gives society something of lasting value. However, in my view, both artists and critics all bring something of lasting value to society, and without either of them, there will be regret to the world.

Undoubtedly the artists produce tremendous treasure of spirit to society. They express their unique vision of the universes in their works, which is full of their authentic passion, creative impulse and innate inspiration. When we are moved by the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, captured by the smile of Mona Lisa, inspired by the fortitude of Jane Eyre, and shocked by the courage of St .Joan, we cannot help admiring them from the bottom of our hearts. To be more specific, the Parthenon, the token of Athens and considered the supreme example of Doric architecture, has been admired for its unparalleled value in both historical and aesthetic for thousands of years. Therefore, art do bring to cultural shock, and art itself is the emblem of lasting value.  

However, the critics also play a vital role in contributing to lasting value. Not all of the common people can understand the value of those artworks, and the critics play a role of an introducer in leading laymen to the artistic palace. In retrospect, a great deal of masterpieces could not be understood by ordinary mass even some professionals. For instance, "Impression: sunrise", the outstanding works of Monet, was considered absurd artwork initially, since Monet used a large amount of blue to express the sunrise, which did not conform to nature. Yet later critics made a study of it and found out that the painting was associated with social phenomenon, thus its value was revealed. Without the critics, perhaps the painting was still viewed as nonsense even destroyed. Then how did it bring to lasting value?

On the other hand, in a sense, the critics also play a role of catalyzer to the lasting value of art. Since the more discoveries of those artworks being revealed, the more relevant researches on them will be made. A compelling example is Mona Lisa’s smile. The critics found that the landscape of the right side on Mona Lisa's face was not the same as that on the left side, which led to the mysterious smile further. Such find attracted numerous researchers to write books and articles about it, and similar effects from other works of Leonardo da Vinci’s even impelled Hollywood to play a film on the theme, namely, “The Da Vinci code”, which pushed the prosperity of the art.

In sum, it is artists and critics who work together to contribute to the lasting value of art. The artists produce those miracles, yet the critics perfect them.