I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the relationship between art and self-indulgence. The two concepts are pretty closely intertwined, and it’s difficult to find one without the other. Once, I read that every self-indulgent piece of art begins with the words ‘I think’, or even simply ‘I’. You just have to read the first sentence of this paragraph to see that it’s quite a fair assessment.
I think the concept of ‘art’ and what makes ‘art’ valuable is subjective in the same way that clothing, hairstyles and home décor are subjective; beauty is certainly in the eye of the beholder, but we all secretly tend to lean towards the popular route, even if we know it’s a capitalistic trend that is pretty meaningless when looked at objectively. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this, either. You can be individualistic whilst still remaining in the ‘norms’ of what society is dictating to be popular or of value. In fact, I tend to see those who try to dress ‘alternative’ in a way that’s almost more cookie cutter and bland than someone who, for example, finds a few cheap pieces in Penneys and puts something new and different together. At the end of the day, both cannot exist without the other, and it’s not one straight line from ‘alternative’ to ‘fast-fashion Barbie’, there’s an entire spectrum and a billion different styles that cannot fall under any succinct category. But I digress.
What got me thinking about art and the narcissism often associated with it was the content that was produced throughout the pandemic, particularly from celebrities. We all remember the famous ‘Imagine’ video that went viral for entirely the wrong reasons, showing how removed from reality some stars are. And even someone clever and introspective like Bo Burnham can miss the mark; after watching his Netflix special ‘Inside’ – which I did enjoy for the most part – I couldn’t shake the feeling that watching a famous comedian have a mental breakdown whilst ‘locked’ in his room for over a year, however self-aware and metaphorical it might be, seemed silly compared to the normal people around me whom I had watched live out their lives throughout the entirety of the pandemic, the frontline workers who struggled behind tills while customers refused to wear masks, or nurses who worked tirelessly during monster shifts for little recognition. After all, Bo Burnham wasn’t literally ‘locked’ in his room for all this time, and I’m sure the Los Angeles house he’s been isolating in is far from a prison cell. Again, Bo Burnham is entirely aware of this fact which only further contributes to his self-disgust and ‘sad clown’ persona that’s seen throughout the special. However, maybe he should have – as he questioned at the beginning of the special – just shut up.
I don’t actually believe that, and I do think the special was impressive. But it’s been interesting to see how celebrities and ‘artists’ have reacted to the pandemic. A lot of it has felt very – ‘Okay, but what about ME? I want MY experience to be heard! There’s people dying, but this is how it has affected ME – as an artist - and all of MY issues!’
Then again, isn’t that what all art is? Isn’t that what I’m doing right now?
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