Creation, creator, and reconciling the fuzzy line between

Artist. Art-ist. With their craft embedded in the name, it’s no doubt that the line between the creation and the creator becomes blurred. With today’s fast-paced cancel culture, the question arises if art created by individuals with a dark history can still be enjoyed. Needless to say, it is already hard enough to separate the art from the artist, especially when the artist in question has done acts beyond comprehension.

Of course, it is always simpler to jump to either side of the argument without considering multiple factors in making one’s decision. The most common definition of cognitive bias is having a defect in one’s rationality in making decisions, thus misinterpreting information and possibly coming to a flawed conclusion. Even though that may sound as if it is a very small chance that someone is affected by it, there are actually over 180 types of cognitive biases, each one involving a different aspect of life. Some of the most notable in the modern day include: the halo effect (which forms one’s general opinion on someone simply based off a single characteristic), the misinformation effect (the altering of one’s perception on a event after being told new information on it whether or not it is true), and actor-observer bias (the difference between explaining others’ actions from our own). Taking this into consideration, what does this mean for enjoying art?

In a world of having access to nigh infinite knowledge due to the wonderous world of the Internet, the most common type of prejudice that affects one’s understanding and feelings towards is not necessarily as cut and dried as would be expected. As part of human nature, we generally associate the first bits of information we learn about someone/something before we are able to form a full understanding of that certain thing. This is known as anchoring.

Accompanying the recent release of Portkey Games’s Hogwarts Legacy, a wave of backlash has flooded the internet due to transphobic comments made by the Wizarding World’s original creator, J.K. Rowling. This has led many to boycott the game entirely, though this has not stopped the sales of the title in the slightest with the game topping the Playstation download charts for February and selling over 12 million copies in its first two weeks alone. That is even without being fully released on all planned platforms yet.

So, where should one draw the line at supporting someone who has frequently been in controversies? Well, even if J.K. Rowling was the one who came up with the idea and world of the Boy-Who-Lived, in reality, she had absolutely no creative control in the development of the game. This means that she would not get anything except a royalty check from the sales of the game as there was a whole team of fans behind the game that had no connection whatsoever with Rowling. 

However, in some of the most malicious cases, such as with the antisemitic comments made by Kanye West, it is nearly impossible to make that distinction between one’s work and the one behind it. This is even more egregious as he has been quoted on one occasion saying “My greatest pain in life is that I’ll never be able to see myself perform live.” His hubris and egotistical nature could have easily been excluded from his “art,” but it continuously seeps through. 

Truth be told, artists for generations have always been caught up in controversies and repeatedly exposed for their ugly deeds, yet it is not to say that even with their transgressions they are held accountable. Humans have always had their champions, false idols to represent what is “ideal,” and celebrities are just extensions of this idea. All of this links back to the already preconceived notion that as a human race, one can not possibly be capable of committing actions that are irrefutably wicked, which has been debunked numerous times in and out of fiction.

Although, that is not to say that every single celebrity has horrific skeletons in the closet, and there is no such thing as role models, but rather it is more important to research more before coming to a predetermined conclusion based on nothing except bias. So can you still enjoy the art, even knowing the ugly truths of the artist? Well, yes, but as with everything, there are always strings that influence this. Ignorance can be bliss when you truly love the art but kinda hate the artist.

by: Evan Parfitt

Published on March 17, 2023

Oshkosh West Index volume 119 issue VI