Preview

Relationship between the Artist and Society

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1238 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Relationship between the Artist and Society
The Relationship Between the Artist and Society The relationship held by society and the artist is universal, applying mathematically, in literature, and nature. In physics, for every action there is a reaction. The apple does not fall far from the tree, for we often find refuge in our animal instincts. Throughout evolution, figures may have changed, but our fight or flight instincts are still remain strong. Within society, when a person is being ‘attacked,’ be it words or fists, they will fight back, protecting themselves. This is how artist react to society: two lions on the prowl, lunging at one another to see who will prevail in effectiveness and strength. In society, this battle has yet to be won. However, H.L. Mencken creates an elaborate false hatred between society and the artist, instigating by creating problems that are not really there. Neither side is out to get the other. Trendsetting artists like the narrator in Virginia Woolf’s, A Room of One’s Own, who break societies shell do not mix well with the close-mindedness of society. Society’s mind is a tunnel, never open for other ideas or modifications. There is only one-way in and one-way out: one path to travel. There are no other possible routes or changes to the mindset. The idea of someone, an artist or more specifically in the time period a female artist, chipping away through the tunnel, breaking through walls allowing other lights and spectrums in is terrifying. Though society fights back, restricting the creative, innovative souls, they can never gain complete control, for there are too many in the shadows of oppression breaking the mold. It is a losing battle. Society will be forever chained by the tunnel vision: a horse with blinders on, blocking views of all this except the path ahead, leading a parade of people through an ignorant lifestyle, for we have never fully seen what lies beyond the barriers. The life of an artist is difficult whether male or female. The tunnel will never be


References: Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Viking, 1939. Print. Woolf, Virginia. A Room of One 's Own. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1989. Print. Mumford and Sons. Dust Bowl Dance. N.d. CD.
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Ap Euro Chapter 24 Key Terms
    • 653 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Ap Euro Chapter 24 Key Terms

    11. Virginia Woolf- A Roof of One's Own Written by Virginia Woolf. In this work, she spoke of the difficulties that women encounter in being taken seriously as writers.…

    • 653 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Comparison of the Yellow Wallpaper, Story of an Hour, and Gaslight
    • 975 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Comparison of the Yellow Wallpaper, Story of an Hour, and Gaslight

    While women have achieved equality along with political and social independence in many ways over the past century, contemporary feminist movements continue to blossom as gender expectations and stereotypes remain deeply embedded in our culture. Today and in the past, feminist notions about the social norms that limit women's possibilities have yearned for expression and have found this through various artistic outlets. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Story of An Hour by Kate Chopin, and the 1944 Film Gaslight are three artistic works that relay feminist themes in a unique way. These three works differ in certain aspects, but all ultimately embody the same underlying theme of the oppression and liberation.…

    • 975 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    The Yellow Wallpaper/ My Last Duchess Analytical I
    • 817 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Yellow Wallpaper/ My Last Duchess Analytical I

    In a society with everlasting change and differences people clash on a prodigious scale. By analyzing the stories: ?The Yellow Wallpaper? written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and ?My Last Duchess? by Robert Browning, one can take a look into the soul of mankind and attempt to define its ubiquitous desire for control and the backlash that ensues. ?Notice Neptune, though Taming a sea-horse, thought a rarity, Which Claus of Innsbruck cast in bronze for me!?(Browning, p. 53) The Duke?s desire for control is shown as he relates him self to a god attempting to capture the most extreme rarity of all: the unattainable enchantment of a sea-horse. Similarly, in ?The Yellow Wallpaper?, John?s naive understanding of the narrator?s condition lead him to attempt the type of control brought on by typical societal practices. By restricting the narrator?s awkward cry for creativity and freedom, he causes her unique mind to fabricate a world of greater comfort to suit her needs, however grotesque and frightening it seems to John?s belief system. ?John is practical in the extreme. He has no patience with faith, an intense horror of superstition, and he scoffs openly at any talk of things not to be felt and seen and put down in figures.?(Gilman, p.153) ?That?s my last Duchess painted on the wall, looking as if she were alive. I call that piece a wonder...?(Browning, p.52). To the Duke, the beauty of the Duchess can be reduced to a painting, and as he values her as an extravagantly rare possession, he never evaluates the fondness and innocence of her youth. His interest is to obtain subjects which have a high monetary value to society while only forming a less compassionate bond boisterous with horrid feelings of disposition and a vast hunger for manipulation. ?Oh sir, she smiled, no doubt, Whene?er I passed her; but who passed without much that same smile??(Browning, p. 53) The Duke?s thirst for attention causes him to become angry over the innocence or her naive disobedience. Finally…

    • 817 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Georgia O 'Keeffe's Essay Seeing Myself Through Word'
    • 727 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Georgia O 'Keeffe's Essay Seeing Myself Through Word'

    The world is a magnificent place to gain inspiration from, it blossoms a certain inspiration that can only be explained through the perception of the receiver. Understanding who the audience is, that is, the target audience can be manipulated based on how the author “creates” the reflection they want to be seen. As can be seen, in the essay How to Be an Artist According to Georgia O’Keeffe, preparing for the audience that it is intended for can be a battle: “Even when she knew a painting might not be palatable to a wider audience, she saw the value in finishing it—and keeping it for her reference and personal enjoyment.” This shows that all creators have to analyze who their target audience is and how they would like to influence them through their lens of the…

    • 727 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    John Berger Ways of Seeing
    • 390 Words
    • 2 Pages

    John Berger Ways of Seeing

    In John Berger’s article, ’Ways of Seeing’, it explains European eighteenth century art and how it relates to many of todays cultural transitions. Before Berger begins explaining the art itself, he tells us about the cultural constructions that exist today. These cultural constructions are enforced and were highlighted through European eighteenth century art. He began by explaining the difference between a man and a woman’s presence. Men’s presence depends how much power he is able to successfully portray. This power can be social, economical, sexual, etc. A woman’s presence expresses her attitude toward herself and in turn how she will allow other to treat her. This explains why women are so critical of them and critique their actions no matter what the situation may be.…

    • 390 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Analysis of “the Mark on the Wall” by Virginia Woolf
    • 529 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Analysis of “the Mark on the Wall” by Virginia Woolf

    As a modernist writer, Virginia Woolf isn’t interested on describing the reality as it really is, but she wants to privilege the imagination and the liberty of creation. In her short story “The Mark on the Wall”, a simple element like a mark on the wall is responsible to the narrator’s deeply reflection about life and stimulates the imagination of the reader.…

    • 529 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Alice Walker Research Paper
    • 1317 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Alice Walker Research Paper

    In our great-grandmothers’ day?…How was the creativity of the black woman kept alive, year after year and century after century, when for most of the years black people have been in America, it was a punishable crime for a black person to read or write? And the freedom to paint, to sculpt, to expand the mind with action did not exist.” Walker wants the readers to consider how the will to artistically create is ineluctably linked to the will to survive, especially for those in society who have historically been denied any and all expressions of freedom, including creativity. It is within this link between survival and creativity that Walker opens up a new way in which to think about artistry, specifically the artistry of African American women, by considering the smallest efforts at preserving momentary “beauties” as herculean efforts at maintaining humanity. Under her perspective, survival itself becomes an act of artistry. Alice Walker traces the umbilical thread linking women writers through history; from her discovery of Zora Neale Hurston and her collections of black folklore, to the work of Jean Toomer, Buchi Emecheta and Flannery O’Connor. She also looks back at the highs and lows of the civil rights movement, her early political development, and the place of women’s traditions in art. Coining the expression “womanist prose,” these are essays that value women’s culture and strength, the handing on of the creative spark from one generation to…

    • 1317 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Rights of Women in the Middle East
    • 2464 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Rights of Women in the Middle East

    3. Woolf, Virginia. A Room of One 's Own. New York: Harcourt Brace & Co., 1989.…

    • 2464 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Personal Response Virginia Woolf
    • 442 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Personal Response Virginia Woolf

    In the essay A Room of One's Own, the author Virginia Woolf states that "a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction." She believes that women need money as it would release them from their dependence on men; and a room of their own as it would provide them with the time and space in order to write with no interruptions. The money and the room are symbolic of greater issues, such as freedom, privacy and financial independence. In the early 20th century, due to their lack of opportunities and access to luxuries, the literary achievements of women notably suffered.…

    • 442 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    English
    • 1387 Words
    • 6 Pages

    English

    |Establishing the thesis of the response: |At first glance, Virginia Woolf’s 1928 critical essay, A Room of One’s Own and Edward Albee’s |…

    • 1387 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Modernity and the Spaces of Femininity
    • 1189 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Modernity and the Spaces of Femininity

    In the introduction, Pollock starts to analyze how the art and public world during the late 19th century was directed towards masculine standards. That the standards connected to modern art are those set by men for men, leaving the female artists unaccounted for. She also goes on to say that the work produced by the women artist of this time period is different that that of their male equals due to the fact that the women of this era were limited to certain areas of life, there for restricting there subject matter and views. She explains this in telling how there were severe differences socially, economically, and individually among men and women during this time frame (Pollock, 247). Pollock does this through the article by using the Impressionist artists, Mary Cassatt and Berthe Morisot. She explicates the fact that these two artists' works are different in several degrees due to the fact that spaces they were bound to affected what they produced (Pollock 248).…

    • 1189 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Guerrilla Girls
    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Essay On Guerrilla Girls

    Guerrilla Girls’ are a group of women artists and art professionals who fight discrimination and expose sexism and racism in the art world. The Guerrilla Girls’ provide a serious yet humorous approach to feminism. The protest group wears gorilla masks to keep the focus on the real issues and not their personalities or personal identities. Our society grows up learning about centuries of artists, but are limited to white male masterpieces and movements. The Guerrilla Girls’ ask us to rethink the question “Why haven't’ there been more great women artists to why haven’t more women been considered great artists?” (The Guerrilla Girls 7) Most strikingly are the facts that iterate that less than 5% of the artists in the modern art section are women,…

    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    The Theme Of Appearance In The Relationship Between Miss Kilman And Clarissa Dalloway In Mrs Dalloway
    • 1004 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Theme Of Appearance In The Relationship Between Miss Kilman And Clarissa Dalloway In Mrs Dalloway

    TRANSUE Pamela J., Virginia Woolf and the Politics of Style [1986], New York: State University of New York Press, 1986.…

    • 1004 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Why Is Art Important in Society
    • 665 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Why Is Art Important in Society

    I believe that Art is very important to any society. I think that Art in whatever form portrays real daily lives of the people, or person performing it. Art shows us that what people are thinking and feeling is important, beautiful, and valid. It is a powerful and entertaining way to get someone else’s perspective on something. Art is a way for us to express our vision through many different and unique ways. No matter whom you are, or what part of the world you are in Art has a way of lifting our spirits, and making us feel good. We can be directly impacted by its power and emotion. I feel that we as humans need to confide in art because it is true, genuine, and has emotion and meaning. One piece of art can affect so many people in so many different ways. It is an outlet for communication, just not always with words. I always seem to go back to that saying; Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. With art there really are no rules. You may smile, laugh, cry; you might love it or hate it. It all comes down to perception, and where art is concerned you can feel what you want. I believe that art can connect us in a way that nothing else can. Art is a true creative act that is used to express opinions and ideas that might not otherwise be able to be expressed. It can be inspiring and have a great influence on us. The costumes, lights, characters, photographs, poetry are all very entertaining. They allow us to envision ourselves in that situation. The more I think about it just about anything that makes you feel something can be considered art. The possibilities really are endless.…

    • 665 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    The Changing Status of the Artist
    • 1554 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The Changing Status of the Artist

    At the beginning of the fifteenth century, the social status of the artist was far below that of those who hired them. According to Michael Baxandall in his book, Painting and Experience in the Fifteenth Century Italy, in the eyes of the social elite—the Catholic Church and the noblemen—that hired them, artists were closer to servants or tradesmen who provided them with goods and services on a “bespoke basis” than creative and independent geniuses. However, as the fifteenth century came to a close society’s view of artists’ began to change. Artists’ skill became increasingly respected by those who wanted to be seen as being aesthetically sensitive, and as such, artists began to rise in the social world. The respect for skill is especially prominent in Giorgio Vasari’s book, The Lives of the Artists, in which the author takes special note of Michelangelo’s genius. The change is especially noticeable between the beginning of the fifteenth century and the middle of the sixteenth century, in which artists began to be seen as masters of their craft instead of simple providers of goods and services, but while Baxandall sees the shift as a mere reaction to cultural and economic forces in which skill became the new commodity, Vasari, an artist himself, sees the master artist as something close to the divine.…

    • 1554 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More

Related Topics