WHEN ART REFLECTS THE ARTIST

Welcome to my Nightmare
By Alex Ness
November 29, 2021

When Art Reflects Too Well

A number of readers wrote to ask what my take upon the recent accusations towards Marilyn Manson.  In a way, I think we are misdirecting our aim. Whether the celebrity in question is a sports star, an actor, a poet, or rock star, there is a false notion held by many that somehow the people who create arts, have athletic prowess, invent or design things, are made instantly moral by their fame. I'm absolutely not saying anyone is or is not moral, whether famous or not. I'm not saying anyone is more moral than anyone else. I am saying that if you are looking to a celebrity, of any realm of fame, for their great life of morality, I think that the celebrity will fail.

Whatever the reason, we are not saints, and even if there are no outer flaws, there is within us all, moral flaw. This isn't meant to say we are all the same, evil doers one and all, nor is it meant to forgive all "sins".  It is to say, that however we might try, none of us are sinless, by our nature we are imperfect. Those who demand moralist or perfectionist standards in their heroes are elevating them to a place where they are almost certainly unworthy of being. Eventually they will fall. This isn't in any way saying we should ignore all moral transgressions, if they are well known. In the end we will learn of a famous person's flaws.

Marilyn Manson, formerly Brian Hugh Warner, has created an image of a character within his work. He portrays himself as a dark soul narrating the underworld, realms of hurt, malice, and amorality. His music featured dark themes, and he celebrated being a societal outcast, as often as he seemed to desire fame or fortune as well. In reading about the accusations against Marilyn Manson, I've found suggestions that he is a person who has many moral deviations, being abusive, sexually aggressive and one who violates the dignity of others. I know there are people who will say, yeah, that is what he says he does, because of the music, so how is this all a surprise? But that isn't the truth. He created a character who says and does all the things on stage. In real life he has said in interviews that he is somewhat conservative.

There will always be debates over motives of celebrity. There will be commentary about who really committed the crime or error, the creator or his character, but we don't get very far if we don't look behind the mask. Alice Cooper (Vincent Damon Furnier) created a dark narrator character, but he himself is/was a flawed but distinctly different person than his character. And he has mentioned being the child of a pastor, and grandchild of a pastor, and is a born again Christian. The members of the band KISS are similar. Gene Simmons, the Kabuki demon make up member of the band, has said he doesn't touch alcohol or drugs. Demon Kogure is a Japanese creative artist, a musical talent and commentator, who avoids showing his undisguised face, and is quite funny.  

My point isn't to forgive or forget whatever happened, it is to point out that the character on stage is often different than the person beneath the make up who goes home and lives a different life. In the case of Manson there seems to be many people who have been hurt, and many reporting their experience. I'm not suggesting that you should not like Manson's music, or dislike what and who his character portrays. At this point, though, I think we have reason to know better in the case of Manson. The conversation is one that a reasonable person cannot say it was the character doing it, rather than the artist. I've argued for accepting art for art sake and I will continue to still do that. But sometimes the art reflects more upon the creative talent creating it than we might like to accept.

About Getting Reviews from Me

First off, I can be found on Facebook, Twitter or through email at Alexanderness63@gmail.com. I accept hard copies, so when you inquire at any of these places, I'll follow through by telling you my street address. I no longer have a post box, although I regret that.  It was a crushing defeat to no longer have a p.o. box, when I came to realize I was getting so little product it made no sense to pay for the privilege to not receive mail at both my home and at the post office. If you send hard copies for review I will always review them, but if you prefer to send pdf or ebooks to my email, I will review these at my discretion. I don't share my pdf/ebooks, so you can avoid worry that I'd dispense them for free to others.

MY LINKS:
My Poetry Blog AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com
My Published Work  AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com/2007/01/My-Work.html
My Amazon Page Amazon.com/author/AlexNess
Lovecraft Styled Horror CthulhuDarkness.Blogspot.Com
Atlantis and other Lost Worlds AlexNessLostWorlds.Blogspot.Com

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Final note: Please remember, there is no such thing as wild or tame. Every animal in the wild can be your pet, so long as you don't mind the bite marks, claw marks, the bleeding, the loss of limbs, poisoned wounds and instant death.