WEBVTT 00:00:01.849 --> 00:00:05.730 So I had this argument among friends, and I'm 00:00:05.730 --> 00:00:07.750 going to set the record straight and just put 00:00:07.750 --> 00:00:10.970 my foot down on this issue, okay? The question 00:00:10.970 --> 00:00:14.289 is this. Is art subjective? And the answer to 00:00:14.289 --> 00:00:18.129 that is an emphatic hell no, okay? There is objectivity 00:00:18.129 --> 00:00:20.839 in art. I'm going to break it down for you. I'm 00:00:20.839 --> 00:00:23.620 going to explain to you why it is a dumbass opinion 00:00:23.620 --> 00:00:26.140 to go ahead and think that art is somehow subjective 00:00:26.140 --> 00:00:28.379 and it's just whatever it is that you like. So 00:00:28.379 --> 00:00:29.980 let's differentiate between two different claims. 00:00:30.239 --> 00:00:33.960 So one claim is, I like such and such artwork. 00:00:34.159 --> 00:00:37.420 So let's say, I like this Picasso piece. Versus, 00:00:37.420 --> 00:00:43.619 this Picasso piece is good. If you are going 00:00:43.619 --> 00:00:46.640 to be subjective about art, then you're going 00:00:46.640 --> 00:00:49.560 to say, well, whatever I like is what is good, 00:00:49.759 --> 00:00:51.979 right? And everybody just likes different things. 00:00:52.039 --> 00:00:54.820 People could like whatever they want to, okay? 00:00:54.939 --> 00:00:58.219 So it's good for them, okay? All right. If you 00:00:58.219 --> 00:01:00.219 want to have that opinion and you want to equate 00:01:00.219 --> 00:01:02.780 basically what somebody likes to what is actually 00:01:02.780 --> 00:01:05.859 good, then what you're saying... essentially 00:01:05.859 --> 00:01:09.140 is then that any every single piece of art that 00:01:09.140 --> 00:01:11.519 somebody likes is good for them right so there 00:01:11.519 --> 00:01:15.640 is no such thing as bad art technically speaking 00:01:15.640 --> 00:01:18.319 right there's just stuff that you like and don't 00:01:18.319 --> 00:01:21.920 like and what this does is it just destroys any 00:01:21.920 --> 00:01:24.239 sort of discussion we could have about what constitutes 00:01:24.239 --> 00:01:26.760 good art there would be no need for critics there 00:01:26.760 --> 00:01:28.459 would be no need for people to even have discussions 00:01:28.459 --> 00:01:30.799 about good art we would just go around walking 00:01:30.799 --> 00:01:33.760 around in museums and being like that's good 00:01:34.159 --> 00:01:36.859 Because all that means is I like it. That's bad. 00:01:37.079 --> 00:01:39.719 All that means is I don't like it. That's it. 00:01:39.920 --> 00:01:42.719 End of discussion. You like it. I don't like 00:01:42.719 --> 00:01:45.180 it. End of discussion. There's no more talking 00:01:45.180 --> 00:01:47.840 need to be done, right? Why is it that we have 00:01:47.840 --> 00:01:49.659 conversations trying to convince each other that, 00:01:49.659 --> 00:01:52.500 you know, our view of whether or not this piece 00:01:52.500 --> 00:01:54.620 is a good piece of art, right? Why do we have 00:01:54.620 --> 00:01:57.120 those discussions at all? It's because we don't 00:01:57.120 --> 00:02:00.340 believe in this subjectivity of art, okay? We 00:02:00.340 --> 00:02:03.799 believe that some people have... an unrefined 00:02:03.799 --> 00:02:07.400 taste, or we believe that there are reasons that 00:02:07.400 --> 00:02:09.400 could be given to convince another person that 00:02:09.400 --> 00:02:12.300 the art is good, right? This is why we have these 00:02:12.300 --> 00:02:15.259 debates about like, oh, who's the best at doing 00:02:15.259 --> 00:02:17.340 X, Y, and Z? Who's the best painter? Who's the 00:02:17.340 --> 00:02:20.319 best musician? Yada, yada, yada. It's because 00:02:20.319 --> 00:02:24.300 we have some sense of what constitutes good art. 00:02:24.439 --> 00:02:26.560 And it varies depending on exactly the kind of 00:02:26.560 --> 00:02:28.120 art we're talking about. It might depend on the 00:02:28.120 --> 00:02:29.680 genre. It might depend on all kinds of things. 00:02:29.719 --> 00:02:32.259 Let me give you an example. In music, I'm imagining 00:02:32.259 --> 00:02:34.159 that most people will say things like harmony, 00:02:34.259 --> 00:02:36.800 melody, creativity, and how the sounds are put 00:02:36.800 --> 00:02:38.219 together. I don't know. You could point to all 00:02:38.219 --> 00:02:40.439 kinds of lyrics. All these kinds of things could 00:02:40.439 --> 00:02:43.080 come together to constitute good music. Now, 00:02:43.139 --> 00:02:45.860 what constitutes good music in rap might be different 00:02:45.860 --> 00:02:48.219 from what constitutes good music in punk. rock, 00:02:48.360 --> 00:02:50.180 which might be different than what constitutes 00:02:50.180 --> 00:02:55.159 good music in classical. I don't know. We can 00:02:55.159 --> 00:02:56.319 have these discussions. But the point is that 00:02:56.319 --> 00:02:58.000 there's some sort of standard. It's not as if 00:02:58.000 --> 00:03:00.900 there's no standard. There is some sort of standard. 00:03:01.139 --> 00:03:02.819 Let me give you an example. I'm about to sing 00:03:02.819 --> 00:03:04.780 for you right now. I'm going to sing for you 00:03:04.780 --> 00:03:06.419 right now. You tell me if this is good music. 00:03:06.659 --> 00:03:17.300 Are you ready? Let's be honest. That was pretty 00:03:17.300 --> 00:03:20.210 amazing. Wasn't it? I'm just kidding. That was 00:03:20.210 --> 00:03:23.669 awful, right? That was terrible. I think I could 00:03:23.669 --> 00:03:25.590 acknowledge it. That was shit. That was horrible. 00:03:25.770 --> 00:03:27.949 That was not music. I don't know. I mean, you 00:03:27.949 --> 00:03:30.610 could say it is music, right? There's some semblance 00:03:30.610 --> 00:03:33.750 of musical structure to some degree. But I'll 00:03:33.750 --> 00:03:35.270 listen to that and be like, yeah, that's terrible. 00:03:35.490 --> 00:03:38.050 And it's not me saying I don't like it. There's 00:03:38.050 --> 00:03:41.610 a difference, right? I don't like it, but I could 00:03:41.610 --> 00:03:44.610 appreciate it. We could say these things because 00:03:44.610 --> 00:03:45.810 we don't think that they're one and the same 00:03:45.810 --> 00:03:48.169 thing. OK, well, let me give you an example. 00:03:48.229 --> 00:03:50.210 Right. Like I remember when I was growing up, 00:03:50.250 --> 00:03:52.449 Britney Spears was really popular and Britney 00:03:52.449 --> 00:03:54.069 Spears was just like playing all over the radio. 00:03:54.150 --> 00:03:56.349 And I was always so annoyed. It's like, oh, this 00:03:56.349 --> 00:03:59.509 music is shit. I hate it. Right. And I was able 00:03:59.509 --> 00:04:01.590 to still acknowledge. Right. Especially with 00:04:01.590 --> 00:04:03.509 most of these pop music that go viral. I guess 00:04:03.509 --> 00:04:06.710 I say, look, hey, I could acknowledge why people 00:04:06.710 --> 00:04:09.469 like it. I could acknowledge that people like 00:04:09.469 --> 00:04:12.500 it. I get. It makes sense why people like it. 00:04:12.699 --> 00:04:14.900 There's something about the melodies and something 00:04:14.900 --> 00:04:17.360 about it that just really is catchy, right? It 00:04:17.360 --> 00:04:19.240 gets stuck in your head. It's an earworm, okay? 00:04:19.480 --> 00:04:22.839 All right, I get why people like it. I'm not 00:04:22.839 --> 00:04:25.980 denying that people can like it. Sometimes I 00:04:25.980 --> 00:04:27.600 hated myself for doing this, but sometimes I 00:04:27.600 --> 00:04:29.600 would catch myself accidentally singing along 00:04:29.600 --> 00:04:31.480 to a Britney Spears song, and I'd be like, damn, 00:04:31.560 --> 00:04:33.740 damn it, okay? Because it gets stuck in my head. 00:04:34.279 --> 00:04:37.240 So I might not necessarily, I might acknowledge 00:04:37.240 --> 00:04:40.680 that. There's a reason that people like it. I 00:04:40.680 --> 00:04:43.060 still think that it is shit. It's shit music. 00:04:43.240 --> 00:04:46.779 It's not good music, okay? And, you know, the 00:04:46.779 --> 00:04:48.680 discussion wouldn't just end there. If somebody 00:04:48.680 --> 00:04:50.279 wanted to actually have a conversation, it's 00:04:50.279 --> 00:04:51.980 like, well, why do you think it's not good music? 00:04:52.139 --> 00:04:54.319 You acknowledge that people like it. It's like, 00:04:54.360 --> 00:04:56.660 yeah, I acknowledge that people like it, but 00:04:56.660 --> 00:04:58.819 just because people like it doesn't mean it's 00:04:58.819 --> 00:05:01.360 good music. And the difference is that good music 00:05:01.360 --> 00:05:03.199 constitutes, and then now I give you reasons 00:05:03.199 --> 00:05:06.060 for why it is that I would consider, you know, 00:05:06.079 --> 00:05:10.060 such and such song. good or not good music, right? 00:05:10.240 --> 00:05:12.639 It would be something along the lines of it lacks 00:05:12.639 --> 00:05:15.899 creativity, has been done before. I get why it's 00:05:15.899 --> 00:05:18.540 popular, but that's because the melody is like 00:05:18.540 --> 00:05:21.600 a rehashing of some old song. The lyrics don't 00:05:21.600 --> 00:05:23.740 talk about anything meaningful. It doesn't actually 00:05:23.740 --> 00:05:26.819 evoke any strong emotions, right? The singing 00:05:26.819 --> 00:05:28.980 is terrible, especially in the case of Britney 00:05:28.980 --> 00:05:30.920 Spears. That nasally voice always drove me nuts, 00:05:31.000 --> 00:05:35.529 okay? I get it if you like it. I am not going 00:05:35.529 --> 00:05:38.689 to hate on you for liking it. I might judge you 00:05:38.689 --> 00:05:41.990 a little for having bad taste maybe. But you 00:05:41.990 --> 00:05:44.370 could like what you like. I have friends who 00:05:44.370 --> 00:05:47.269 like different genres of music or different artists. 00:05:47.470 --> 00:05:50.029 That's fine. We could like different things. 00:05:50.870 --> 00:05:53.550 But don't tell me that just because you like 00:05:53.550 --> 00:05:56.290 it, that's what makes it good. That's not what 00:05:56.290 --> 00:05:58.209 makes it good. You know what that is? That is 00:05:58.209 --> 00:06:01.610 a lazy fucking response by somebody who doesn't 00:06:01.610 --> 00:06:03.910 want to have a real conversation about what constitutes 00:06:03.910 --> 00:06:07.569 good music. When it comes to things like going 00:06:07.569 --> 00:06:10.089 to a museum and looking at pieces of art. Okay, 00:06:10.110 --> 00:06:12.029 look, I'm going to be honest with you. I don't 00:06:12.029 --> 00:06:14.879 know enough about... about art to be able to, 00:06:14.879 --> 00:06:17.439 at least in terms of paintings and drawings and 00:06:17.439 --> 00:06:20.240 photography, I don't know enough about the process 00:06:20.240 --> 00:06:22.360 to be able to say anything meaningful about it. 00:06:22.540 --> 00:06:25.420 What I do know is that the people who do know 00:06:25.420 --> 00:06:28.060 something about these things, it would be important 00:06:28.060 --> 00:06:29.879 to have a conversation with them and listen to 00:06:29.879 --> 00:06:32.339 them and try to understand why they think certain 00:06:32.339 --> 00:06:35.959 pieces of art are good art. I don't have to agree 00:06:35.959 --> 00:06:38.000 with them, and it doesn't change the fact that 00:06:38.000 --> 00:06:40.319 I might not actually end up liking it at all. 00:06:40.420 --> 00:06:43.620 I might still just not like it. There's a difference 00:06:43.620 --> 00:06:46.740 between not liking it and acknowledging some 00:06:46.740 --> 00:06:50.259 aspects of a piece of art that makes it or gives 00:06:50.259 --> 00:06:53.819 somebody a reason to think it's good art or bad 00:06:53.819 --> 00:06:57.860 art, right? So look, all I'm asking for is this, 00:06:57.959 --> 00:07:02.310 okay? Stop being a dick and just saying all art 00:07:02.310 --> 00:07:04.170 is subjective and just everybody like whatever 00:07:04.170 --> 00:07:06.029 they like. You know what that is? These are conflict 00:07:06.029 --> 00:07:08.610 avoidant pieces of shit that don't want to have 00:07:08.610 --> 00:07:10.449 real conversations about art. That's what it 00:07:10.449 --> 00:07:12.870 is. It's real, genuine, non -art appreciators, 00:07:12.870 --> 00:07:15.649 right? If you genuinely appreciate art, you want 00:07:15.649 --> 00:07:18.209 to talk about the art. You want to have a conversation 00:07:18.209 --> 00:07:20.430 about what makes the art good, what makes the 00:07:20.430 --> 00:07:23.689 art not so good, what aspects of it was particularly 00:07:23.689 --> 00:07:27.850 creative or unique or really changed the landscape 00:07:27.850 --> 00:07:30.470 in the art world. Whatever the form of art you're 00:07:30.470 --> 00:07:32.410 talking about, we want to have these conversations 00:07:32.410 --> 00:07:34.689 because none of us really believe that it is 00:07:34.689 --> 00:07:37.920 purely subjective. That is bullshit. That is 00:07:37.920 --> 00:07:39.519 bullshit. That's what people who know nothing 00:07:39.519 --> 00:07:42.319 about art actually say because they feel, I don't 00:07:42.319 --> 00:07:44.459 know what, insecure about not having anything 00:07:44.459 --> 00:07:46.759 meaningful to say about the art? Then just shut 00:07:46.759 --> 00:07:48.360 up and listen, right? Listen to people who know 00:07:48.360 --> 00:07:50.839 what they're talking about, okay? I ask my students 00:07:50.839 --> 00:07:52.480 all the time to introduce me to some new music. 00:07:52.579 --> 00:07:54.759 I am not going to be knocking on newer generations 00:07:54.759 --> 00:07:56.680 and be like, that's not real music. That's a 00:07:56.680 --> 00:07:58.240 piece of shit, right? I'm not going to be one 00:07:58.240 --> 00:08:01.220 of those people because I want to have the conversation 00:08:01.220 --> 00:08:05.680 about what constitutes good art with... Anybody, 00:08:05.879 --> 00:08:07.980 right? Because I want to get a better understanding 00:08:07.980 --> 00:08:09.699 of what it is that they're picking up on. And 00:08:09.699 --> 00:08:12.100 my guess is that they're picking up on some of 00:08:12.100 --> 00:08:15.420 these similar core elements that make all art 00:08:15.420 --> 00:08:18.839 in the history of things, right? If you think 00:08:18.839 --> 00:08:21.399 about in the long term, right? What constitutes 00:08:21.399 --> 00:08:24.779 good art for a majority of people, right? It 00:08:24.779 --> 00:08:27.100 doesn't come out of nowhere. You need to train 00:08:27.100 --> 00:08:28.800 yourself in understanding what it is that you're 00:08:28.800 --> 00:08:31.399 listening to or exposing yourself to. You need 00:08:31.399 --> 00:08:33.730 enough exposure. If you don't listen to enough 00:08:33.730 --> 00:08:36.210 of this particular genre of music, you don't 00:08:36.210 --> 00:08:38.409 have anything meaningful to say about it because 00:08:38.409 --> 00:08:40.409 you don't know what you're talking about, right? 00:08:40.570 --> 00:08:42.529 I will acknowledge this and I will actually say, 00:08:42.649 --> 00:08:44.509 like, look, I don't know enough about this. I 00:08:44.509 --> 00:08:47.750 might like it. I might not like it. I could tell 00:08:47.750 --> 00:08:50.289 you why I like it, why I don't like it. But I 00:08:50.289 --> 00:08:53.250 also am not going to say that that means that 00:08:53.250 --> 00:08:56.649 somehow my judgment makes it so that it is good 00:08:56.649 --> 00:09:00.210 art or bad art for me. That is some arrogant 00:09:00.210 --> 00:09:03.580 bullshit, okay? That is some arrogant bullshit 00:09:03.580 --> 00:09:07.440 rooted in some deep insecurity. So y 'all need 00:09:07.440 --> 00:09:11.039 to stop lying to yourselves, okay? There is objectivity 00:09:11.039 --> 00:09:14.039 in art, okay? Just because things are popular 00:09:14.039 --> 00:09:17.039 doesn't make it good, okay? I think we've all 00:09:17.039 --> 00:09:19.240 had the experience of this. Things that have 00:09:19.240 --> 00:09:21.679 gone viral and you're like, that is shit. That 00:09:21.679 --> 00:09:23.700 is crap. Like, that is not good music, okay? 00:09:24.259 --> 00:09:27.379 So... Let's be reasonable about this. Let's have 00:09:27.379 --> 00:09:29.700 real conversations and stop getting so sensitive 00:09:29.700 --> 00:09:31.320 and worked up just because somebody doesn't agree 00:09:31.320 --> 00:09:34.120 with you on what they like and don't like and 00:09:34.120 --> 00:09:36.759 what you like and don't like, right? Not everyone 00:09:36.759 --> 00:09:38.919 needs to agree. It's fine. We have differences 00:09:38.919 --> 00:09:40.980 of opinion. Let's have a conversation about it. 00:09:41.259 --> 00:09:43.120 Don't get your feelings all worked up in a bunch, 00:09:43.220 --> 00:09:45.139 all right? Jesus Christ.