Purpose

The purpose of this blog is to examine the role of the "uncivilized" person in "civilized" society.  For this reason, I have chosen to take a close look at several artists who may fit this status. 

The art world is considered to be one of the most "civilized" realms of interest; those who are well versed in the topic and collect fine art seem to be praised for their knowledge and sophistication.  Moreover, to a common person – a philistine, as some art collectors may refer to them – this big, cultural, artistic engine seems to be what separates the "civilized" from the "uncivilized."  It is constantly pumping and churning and repeating tiny combustions of brilliance to determine what the civilized person thinks about; how he should be thinking; why he should think about such things.  Following this logic, common people have no say in what is acceptable and civilized.  They merely adhere to societal guidelines determined by a more elite group. 

In this cultural structure, artists are the ones who provide the ideas and concepts about which to be thought.  Does this mean that artists are part of the elite group at the top of the civilization chain, turning the heads of those down below?  In fact, they are not.  They are nails in the floor, sticking out with the rest of us.  The difference is that they do not care if they are pounded down; they are not part of the civilized system of culture.  Because of their apathy, and in many cases rebellion, toward the systematic ideas trickled down to us, they are not pounded down, but instead lifted out of the floor completely – transcending the other nails.

To label artists "uncivilized" would be to discredit them entirely; great artists typically avoid labeling themselves as anything other than themselves.  I do not wish to label anyone.  Instead, I am posing the questions, "Were they uncivilized?" and, "What would make a 'civilized' person think of them as 'uncivilized,' if not for their art?"  My goal is not to prove the irony of a "lesser" person's ideas becoming culturally sophisticated, or to renounce the absolute brilliance of artistic icons.  My goal is to open the readers' eyes and allow them to see just how equal they are to those at the top.  After all, there cannot be a proverbial top without a bottom.