Art and Emotion
What makes good music or art? Undoubtably the ability
to move one's emotions is a major factor. Some modern artists have taken this
to lowest denominator and think that if they can move people to repulsion or
anger than that makes it good art, but good art produces constructive emotion.
Art, whether music, painting or any other form, has an emotional and a technical
component. This is the ability of the artist, for example, to produce an image
or particular notes on an instrument. People who have little contact with their
emotional side fail to perceive the emotional in the art and in this regard
they are like the colour-blind person I referred to in my article ('A colourless
World'). However, people who can feel emotions may find that music by someone
who is not so technically proficient is better than good technical music that
lacks emotion. Similarly with paintings.
Much modern art is technically good but is totally lacking in emotion. The works of David Hockney are like this: emotionally cold, as is modern 'techno' music. Nowadays musicians are mass-produced according to a formula and any emotional nuances are disregarded. When the Egyptian singer Umm Kulthoum died in 1975 4 million people attended her funeral, such was the power of her voice to move people. How many of the mass-produced western singers would draw such a crowd?
Western media is controlled by a few companies who, generally, have a rigid attitude to the creative process. Movies follow a formula although when someone breaks the mould and produces something successful, all the movie companies then jump on this bandwagon. TV shows are given a few episodes to achieve success and if they don't get the ratings they are moved aside. The industry is formula driven. The wooden nature of these executives is illustrated by their attitude to on-line music and movies. Instead of embracing new technologies and using them for their advantage, they attempt to suppress them and use the law to support their Luddite attitudes.
