Should we Separate The Art from The Artist?
Author's Note;
The last 2 years now I have not been blogging nor have I been consistent anywhere else on the internet, as I have been going through a lot in my personal life. I would like to formally offer up an apology for my absence. I would like to thank every single one of you that dm'ed me on my instagram asking where I had been, i appreciate the concern and love. This post was initially written as far back as December 2022 with additional embellishments made in present day 2025.
With the recent allegations of acclaimed artists, writers, and even musicians like Kanye West, or R Kelly. It's made me wonder on whether or not we should be calling on the separation of the artist from the art that they have created. Under the current social climate in which we live in it could be seen as a daunting task to voice your opinion on art that social media might have to convinced is harmful to greater societal norms. However, would calling for the separation of the Art from its respective Artist bring any change, or is the Artist's work too ingrained in its context in which it was created under?
A while back I had read Jack London's most popular novels 'The Call of The Wild', and the equally well-known 'White Fang'. I had no prior knowledge of either of these books, its previous film/tv adaptations, or its legacy as revered English Children's Classics. I had picked up these books whilst out thrifting. My baby boomer mother was the one who had let me know that she remembers the call of the wild being a radio drama that she used to listen to when she was a kid - "a story about a sleigh-dog and his breakaway to freedom" to paraphrase her.
After excitedly googling these books, and finding out that one of them had a recent film adaptation, I couldn't wait to watch it after my read of the Call of The Wild. When I finally got around to reading these two novels I quickly realized its complex themes it discusses, despite being a children's classic (Racism, Animal Abuse, and Animal cruelty). To my surprise however not all these themes where handled with the care you might expect a book intended for readers aged 12 and up. One might argue that due to the fact this is a novel originally published in 1903 (pre-first World War), and that context in which it was written under might have been a contributing factor to its flippant use of racial and minority slurs, and graphic depictions of animal violence.
I had read these books and had rated 'The Call of The Wild' a 4.5★, and 'White Fang' a 3★. I found the writing and use of almost imaginative dream-like prose to be quite refreshing despite these book's literary status being controversial Children's Classics. And the overarching theme of both being one of independence, freedom from civility, and a drive for self-dependence. All of which being pretty relevant stories for the lives of (presumably) young boys.
However, that does not mean that these books should necessarily be art separated from its Artist's context, the cultural context in which these books where written under. To remove (which is exactly what the most recent film adaptation did) or ignore the Racism, slurs, and animal cruelty of these books is the removal of historical context needed to better convey these themes to kids in a learning setting. The Separation of Art from the Artist is a nuanced discussion that I would love to hear more about. Let Me Know Down What You think About It In The Comments!
Thank You for reading <3
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