Read on Twitter
One of the things that comes with being older and having spent your teenage years in an age where all you faves were more or less problematic by current standards, is perspective. And the knowledge that, as a fan, you always have a choice. You can be aware of your faves faults.
Your fave is human too. Humans make mistake and mess up. That’s what we do. And you can choose where your own personal ethical line lies, and how to navigate it. You can look at artist and art and decide what to do with either. Cancelling culture has no nuances. Black or white.
But sometimes a work of art has an important meaning for you, even if the person that made it was an asshole. So you can make your informed choice about it. You can keep consuming the content but avoid giving money or clout to the artist.
You can hold your fave accountable and give them the chance to educate themselves to keep receiving your support and money, or you can be aware that you are not part of their market demographic and choose based on that. There is no fully ethical consumption in capitalism anyway.
Everything we consume is not 100% pure and perfect, because if you start turning stones you find problematic stuff everywhere. The system is problematic. So make your own choice, draw your on line and respect others when they draw theirs. Remember human empathy. Be kind.
One of my favourite painters is Caravaggio. He was also a raging murderer and an overall mess of a human. I can appreciate his art, take what I need from it and aknowledge he was an asshole at the same time.
It’s not as easy to do the same about Picasso for me. That’s my line: you can be a madman, but if you’re abusive to women ehhhh... it’s harder for me to avoid thinking about it. It’s my personal line. Respect everybody’s personal line. We all have our own reasons for them.
