Dr. Forbush Thinks

Art and Literature

I wrote a blog about Art and Science last week, and I thought I would continue from where I left off. In my blog I concluded that Art and Science are actually more alike than we actually realize. This is because Art and Science both observe the world and record those observations. Art includes emotion in both the observation and the communication. Science on the other hand attempts to exclude emotion in an effort to measure the world.

Based on this simplistic view we can move forward and ask the question – “What makes art ‘good’?” Most people have a personal idea of what makes art “good.” I have heard people express these opinions as long ago as I can remember. For example, one person may tell me that they saw some fantastic art, because the paintings were so realistic. Realism is one aspect of art, but does that mean that art that isn’t realistic is bad? Similarly, some people may say that like a particular style of music because they really enjoy the beat or the lyrics reminded them of a romance they once had. Does this mean that if music doesn’t have the catchy beat or lyrics that remind us of something out of our lives, then the music is bad? If the answer to these questions is no, then how do we know if art is ‘good’?

We should go back to understand the purpose of art. The artist observes the world and records those observations in a form, which communicates them to an audience. Paintings and drawings have an audience that trickles in and moves on over time. Live music and dance have an audience that witnesses the performance simultaneously, but only once. Literature, like paintings and drawings, have an audience that trickles in, but the audience must also have their interest held for a long period of time, or the reader may just put the book down and never pick it up again.

People know what they like when it comes to literature. Most people have strong opinions about what type of books that they prefer. Some people will wander through the mystery section looking for another mystery. Some people will peruse the science fiction section looking for another science fiction novel. People know what they like and they like what they know. So, how does one know if a book is a ‘good’ book?

We can go to an extreme example here. Everyone knows that sex sells. Include sex in your book, and you are bound to sell more books. This is because people like to read about what they know, and everyone knows about sex. Even a young teenager who hasn’t experienced sex is programmed by nature to desire something when it comes to sex. So, does including sex in a book make the book ‘good’? Most people would argue that including sex in a book only makes the book ‘cheap’, not ‘good’. Why is this? In our capitalistic society we are taught that creating demand for a product is the most important aspect of your product. Including sex in a book increases demand, therefore including sex in a book should make a book ‘good’.

Maybe the answer lies in the purpose of art. They purpose of art is to observe the world and to relate those observations back to the audience. By writing a book that includes sex in it we are relating the observed experience of sex back to the audience. But, if the book merely tells us what we already know the artist isn’t breaking new frontiers or relating new observations. The author is relying on telling us what we already know and telling us something that we know we like to hear again and again. It is like the pop musician that uses the I, IV, V chord progression over and over again. The musician knows that this is what the people are familiar with and he knows that people won’t complain. He is giving the people what they want, but he is not exploring new ways of communication with the audience. Lots of people will buy the music, but is it ‘good’ music. Is the musician a ‘good’ musician?

Obviously the answer lies somewhere in between. People want to hear the music that they are familiar with and the styles they are familiar with. But there must also be a place for musicians to explore new forms of music. Similarly artists need to create art in both traditional and new ways in an effort to understand the established styles and create more powerful new styles. Likewise literature will continue to rehash the old standards and also look at old observations in new ways.

To this end I’d like to alert people to the novel, “I am Charlotte Simmons.” by Tom Wolfe. Mr. Wolfe uses sex in this novel in a completely different way. It gives the reader a new view on an old observation. Of course if you are someone who believes that sex doesn’t belong in literature, then you won’t like this book. But, if you have an open mind you may be surprised at what Mr. Wolfe is saying and how he says it. Is it ‘good’ literature? Time will tell.