It’s that small but pushy and far too obvious line in a film. It’s the blatant, hit-you-over-the-head symbolism in a painting. It’s that sanitized, safe, and perfectly acceptable song.
Does it feel like a lot of art has lost its edge?
Art is a tricky, flighty animal; the moment you try to force it or trap it, that’s the moment you’ll be farthest away from it.
What makes an artist admirable isn’t just technical skill. For most people who don’t spend hours of their day analyzing art and artists, the most obvious element to appreciate in art is technical skill. Yet, technical skill alone doesn’t make a master artist—A.I. art proves this point better than I can.
What truly draws the audience to the artist isn’t just mastery of a medium, but mastery of the self. The master artist achieves a state we all aim for but rarely reach: unguarded, open authenticity.
The best art stirs something deeply human within us because there’s something deeply human within it—a humanity that can only be expressed by an artist unafraid to expose their own humanity first.
Exposing the flawed, murky depths of yourself through art isn’t easy. While most artists believe they pour their souls into their work, it’s not just a matter of effort, but of insight and courage. Eye rolling, not admiration, is the response an artist who tries too hard to be “vulnerable” elicits. Excavating what hides within—despite how ugly it may be—isn’t done for the admiration of others, but to find something meaningful, like your own evolution. The ability to translate self-discovery into universal meaning is what makes the artist a true master.
Our criticism-drunk, morality-mad culture has made it harder for artists to create the art we need to bear our harsh reality. What an artist pulls up from their depths is scrutinized endlessly—not by art critics, but by armchair activists who’ve decided to find malice before they’ve actually found it. In a culture where moral panics make hot headlines and make insecure people feel important, the artist’s journey is the latest sacrifice to an insatiably miserable minority.
Art no longer belongs to the artist or the audience—it belongs to a disaffected middleman whose primary interest is controlling both.
It doesn’t matter what art you enjoy consuming or creating, no opportunity to broadcast The Message should be wasted. Artists feel more pressure to edit their vision with an eye not for excellence, but for ideology; what identity should your characters be, what issue should you “raise awareness” for, and what side should you take? You don’t need a state agency for art censorship when moral pressure is enough to make artists edit their own work for ideological approval.
The other-worldly place between reality and imagination that art opens a door to slams shut the moment artists try to “educate” their audience. All are equal in the realm of art; to preach at your audience is to break the equal relationship that makes art magic.
What happens to a culture that can’t rely on artists for the art that helps humans find beauty and joy in a harsh world? Actor Clifton Duncan and I tried to answer this question and the call for honest art in our latest project.
We hope it brings you the energy and curiosity that its creation brought us.
—Salomé