Stealing Art Part 2
Posted on April 27 2021
Featured image: Daisies, Daffodils and Spring
Western culture is, for the most part, linked to the concept of humanism. The concept of humanism is hidden within other concepts and words. It overpowers other words. The concept of art is no exception.
I would like to call myself a humanist. When I look the word up online, the word humanist, or humanism is defined as:
any system or mode of thought or action in which human interests, values, and dignity predominate. Devotion to or study of the humanities. (sometimes initial capital letter) the studies, principles, or culture of the humanists.
As a humanist, I used to believe that my concept of self/soul, my concept of the individual, my concept of how I think, my consciousness, and my basic freedom were sovereign concepts. What do I mean by that?
Again referring to the sovereign power of, self, our minds, our individuality, and our basic freedom I offer a simple online dictionary explanation of what sovereign means:
Definition of sovereign 1a: superlative in quality b: of the most exalted kind : SUPREME sovereign virtue c: having generalized curative powers a sovereign remedy d: of an unqualified nature : UNMITIGATED sovereign contempt e: having undisputed ascendancy : PARAMOUNT 2a: possessed of supreme powers sovereign ruler b: unlimited in extent : ABSOLUTE c: enjoying autonomy : INDEPENDENT sovereign states 3: relating to, characteristic of, or befitting a supreme ruler : ROYAL a sovereign right
When it comes to self and the artist as self, I used to believe as humanists believed, that if I serve others, help others and share with other artists, that we would all be free to express our personal beings and self. We all would have our own power, accountable to nothing else. That is no longer the case when it comes to self in the arts. Free sovereign space does not exist. It has been overpowered by the humanist agenda. In turn, this humanist agenda controls our understanding of self as artist or just self as self. It’s not that we shouldn’t help others, we should. But, it is about how we help others and how we understand how others might be controlling us and stealing all our power for themselves.
Humanistic controls have stolen what art is. Art is no longer in the service of the self, the artist's soul. Art no longer has its most powerful elements, self and creativity. Rather, the self or soul is subject to the higher powers. The discipline of humanism as created: a socialistic higher power, or the higher power of a God, the mind and how we think, is controlled by what has been defined as the higher power of truth. The individual is being controlled by the higher powers of nature and more prominent social demands. Lastly, our basic freedom is subject to the higher power of the outside world and what is good or best for the outside world as a whole.
My concern again is how humanism's power overpowers the self within the arts. And, how “art” and “artist” are defined by humanism and not by the individual’s sovereign self.
By giving away our sovereign selves to humanism we have lost our freedom and ability to choose and to express ourselves and have our voices heard. We are rather herded into that very grey area in the middle that has taken two extreme ends of the spectrum, polarized them and herded us all into that grey area.
Some call this grey area, a place where we can all get along. The only way we can all get along as it is described, is to give up our subjectivity our sovereignty.
I think there is another way, and this way can be found in the arts. I don’t believe we need to give up our subjectivity our sovereignty. The first step is to think and question everything you are told. It is the most difficult step because it is so much easier to let another think for you. But when you do that, you lose yourself.
Western culture is, for the most part, linked to the concept of humanism. The concept of humanism is hidden within other concepts and words. It overpowers other words. The concept of art is no exception.
I would like to call myself a humanist. When I look the word up online, the word humanist, or humanism is defined as:
any system or mode of thought or action in which human interests, values, and dignity predominate. Devotion to or study of the humanities. (sometimes initial capital letter) the studies, principles, or culture of the humanists.
As a humanist, I used to believe that my concept of self/soul, my concept of the individual, my concept of how I think, my consciousness, and my basic freedom were sovereign concepts. What do I mean by that?
Again referring to the sovereign power of, self, our minds, our individuality, and our basic freedom I offer a simple online dictionary explanation of what sovereign means:
Definition of sovereign 1a: superlative in quality b: of the most exalted kind : SUPREME sovereign virtue c: having generalized curative powers a sovereign remedy d: of an unqualified nature : UNMITIGATED sovereign contempt e: having undisputed ascendancy : PARAMOUNT 2a: possessed of supreme powers sovereign ruler b: unlimited in extent : ABSOLUTE c: enjoying autonomy : INDEPENDENT sovereign states 3: relating to, characteristic of, or befitting a supreme ruler : ROYAL a sovereign right
When it comes to self and the artist as self, I used to believe as humanists believed, that if I serve others, help others and share with other artists, that we would all be free to express our personal beings and self. We all would have our own power, accountable to nothing else. That is no longer the case when it comes to self in the arts. Free sovereign space does not exist. It has been overpowered by the humanist agenda. In turn, this humanist agenda controls our understanding of self as artist or just self as self. It’s not that we shouldn’t help others, we should. But, it is about how we help others and how we understand how others might be controlling us and stealing all our power for themselves.
Humanistic controls have stolen what art is. Art is no longer in the service of the self, the artist's soul. Art no longer has its most powerful elements, self and creativity. Rather, the self or soul is subject to the higher powers. The discipline of humanism as created: a socialistic higher power, or the higher power of a God, the mind and how we think, is controlled by what has been defined as the higher power of truth. The individual is being controlled by the higher powers of nature and more prominent social demands. Lastly, our basic freedom is subject to the higher power of the outside world and what is good or best for the outside world as a whole.
My concern again is how humanism's power overpowers the self within the arts. And, how “art” and “artist” are defined by humanism and not by the individual’s sovereign self.
By giving away our sovereign selves to humanism we have lost our freedom and ability to choose and to express ourselves and have our voices heard. We are rather herded into that very grey area in the middle that has taken two extreme ends of the spectrum, polarized them and herded us all into that grey area.
Some call this grey area, a place where we can all get along. The only way we can all get along as it is described, is to give up our subjectivity our sovereignty.
I think there is another way, and this way can be found in the arts. I don’t believe we need to give up our subjectivity our sovereignty. The first step is to think and question everything you are told. It is the most difficult step because it is so much easier to let another think for you. But when you do that, you lose yourself.