Observations about the depreciation of art and artists under capitalism

We have recently begun studying “The Dispossessed” in our Turkish literature lessons, and I’ve come to realize the immense fear, perhaps even the stigma surrounding art and artists. Art can, to those that truly wish to understand it, change worlds, create revolutions, get people killed or thrown into insane asylums. This is the case with Tirin, the only true artist in Anarres. You may remember from my previous entry about “The Dispossessed” that the universe Le Guin has created takes place in two primary locations: Anarres and Urras. Anarres is an anarchist utopia (or so Shevek, the protagonist, thinks which he further in the novel comes to realize is inaccurate) whereas Urras is a capitalist dystopia (very similar to our current world as can be understood from the name derived from US and USSR). Anarres seems to be a perfectly functional utopia, with everyone volunteering for every job and therefore eliminating the existence of a social hierarchy. However, there are no artists; no singers, no painters, no dancers, no actors, except for Tirin. Tirin is an actor and playwright, and she writes a play about Urras, comedically playing the role of a prostitute trying to sell her body for money. This very obviously interests the citizens of Anarres since they not only have no currency, the notion of a woman begging a man to sleep with her for the primary purpose of gaining money seems completely absurd, and the way in which Tirin portrays it seems rather comedic to them. Tirin is then thrown into an insane asylum, and the reason is not specified, though I (along with many other interpreters of “The Dispossessed”) believe that it’s because Tirin dares to raise an emotion other than utter hatred towards (which is curiosity or intrigue) the citizens of Urras within a citizen of Anarres. 

The extent to which this exact scenario is applicable in our everyday lives, in my life as a person living in Turkey, seems insane to me. I’ve seen journalists being thrown into jail for expressing a mere opinion about their government, to which I always thought “Why throw someone into jail for expressing a seemingly negative opinion about the government- unless it’s true? After all, negative opinions will always be expressed, it’s important to please everybody under a regime.” 

Art, for the longest time, has started revolutions, created riots, been used to bring down presidents or kings. And that begs the realization, perhaps the reason as to why being an artist, unless you’re extremely good at it (which is rare since art is often devalued in most societies), is not necessarily considered a valid career, and that artists are underpaid and even humiliated, is because if the artists were ever to outnumber the politicians, the CEO’s of corrupted firms, or the “important people”, there’d be so many long-overdue revolutions and rightful riots that nobody, unless they truly did a good job of it, would be able to be “powerful”, or become one of the “important people”. 

And so all the artists out there, especially the young ones, please do not stop what you’re doing. You may be made to feel like the path you want to pursue is not one to pursue unless you’re absolutely, completely sure of it and extremely talented (and I think that both are completely untrue, many many people pursue career paths and undergraduate or graduate education without being sure of what they want to do, and sure, talent may have a contribution to it but the most important thing not only about being an artist but in every area of life is that practice makes perfect.) You may encounter, in various points in your life, people who want to dim your light, who want to silence you even, but you will be the one to create change. Artists will be the one to create change, not individuals from what we were made to believe are “better” or “more reputable” jobs- like doctors, lawyers, engineers. Of course, their role in contributing to society is incredibly vital, and perhaps “we wouldn’t have been able to survive without doctors, but we would have been able to survive without artists”. If your definition of surviving is breathing, sure. But if your definition of surviving is wanting to live, then no. Artists, art, makes the world a better place. 

I feel like this blog entry definitely deserves a sequel in which I talk about other debates surrounding art (for example, whether we can judge the art without judging the artists). If you have any requests, don’t hesitate to contact me through myobservationblog@gmail.com !! 🙂

I hope this was able to make you think a bit, and perhaps even inspire you to pursue art, not necessarily as a career even, but perhaps just as a hobby! 🙂 It’ s a great creative outlet, and a way in which you can stimulate your right brain after a long day of probably stimulating your left.