Explain to me how you feel about Louis CK these days. Or Cosby Show reruns. Art is contextual. We all love Chinatown but we can't talk about it without spending some time on Roman Polanski, child rapist. An architect in Texas introduced me to the concept of "ruin value" - the design value of a structure is in no small part related to how well it will look in a post-cataclysmic future. Problem is, "ruin value" was brought to us by Albert Speer so how do you feel about the fact that your architectural trends are literally Nazi? What about Walter Keane? I feel like anything beyond that initial experience of the piece is useless nit-picking.
These are quite literally my personal litmus tests. Louis Sekely is a while middle-aged male with issues who did not have the mental tools/rigor to deal with the responsibility that fame gave him. He abused the power his fame/money gave him. Louis CK created fantastic comedy shows, and did some incredible innovation by eliminating publishers, self-funding the production of his comedy specials, and sold them for $5 via his web site. I bought all of them, and enjoyed them immensely. I also respected his efforts to break the back of the publishing cartel that makes content so expensive. He also broke Tig Notaro into the big time - one of the most important female voices in comedy today - as well as other comedians and artists he liked. --- Bill Cosby is the voice of my youth. He's the first comedian I ever loved, and phrases from his comedy are a part of my daily lexicon even today. I owned 5 of his LPs and played them endlessly. I even performed his bits on stage in talent shows, as a kid. Along with other black artists like Sammy Davis Jr, and Harry Belafonte, he made it OK for white America to interact with and enjoy black performers. They and their peers played no small part in the lowering of the racist policies that defined the America they grew up in. He was also a promoter of other black artists, and brought many talents to the international stage that we would probably never have heard of otherwise. Talents who have gone on to use their platform to help bring others up behind them, as well. Turns out he was also a pervert and abuser, when not on stage. --- Like I said about the Fearless Girl statue, there are layers of art appreciation. Cosby's physical representation of the different types of drunks (wine, gin, scotch, beer, etc.) is still one of the funniest things ever to happen on a comedy stage. I will watch that and laugh my ass off at it, every single time. But if he releases a new version of it for money? I won't pay for it. I cannot support the artist who created the bit, because I know he's a shitweasel. But I'll pirate that shit and laugh my ass off it all day long. Maybe even more so, knowing I pirated it, and he isn't getting a dime from my enjoyment of it. Explain to me how you feel about Louis CK these days. Or Cosby Show reruns.
Okay but we're now well beyond the "initial experience." You can't argue that the contexts of your "personal litmus tests" are irrelevant. Your relationship to Bill Cosby and his art have changed. Your relationship to Louis CK has changed. You can gird your loins and attempt to enjoy their stuff in the context you originally appreciated it in, but that's a conscious effort on your part. Three bands I used to like I can't anymore because they were personally dicks to me. I can appreciate their art - but I can't enjoy it. Artists can't really make big art without patronage; when we're talking about bronzes we're talking about formidable investments in raw material and process. That the artist has taken other commissions doesn't matter. What matters is that the artist took this commission in one spirit and has found the situation grossly misrepresented. It's still not on her website. She's under a virtual gag order. State Street, meanwhile: Examples of such resolutions include requests for boards of directors to publish reports on efforts to bring more diversity to corporate boards, requests for companies to monitor gender pay equity and disclose any gender pay gap, and appeals for boards to include workplace diversity metrics in determining CEO pay. GWILX, which you've never heard of, has $20m under management. PXWEX, which you also haven't? $107m. SHE? $284m. And they've voted against empowering women 60% of the time. How many careers did Louis CK kill? Would one of them have been "one of the most important female voices in comedy today?" Would Tig Notaro have been safe from harassment if she were straight? Yeah it worked out for a few people but we don't know if he was a net good because we don't know what might have been. And in this case, there's no evidence that State Street ever intended to actually do anything for women. Which is important context.Sargis studied the three U.S. funds that have a multiyear record on shareholder proxy votes and which are specifically focused on gender diversity. The study found that Glenmede’s Women’s Leadership Fund GWILX, 0.88% and Pax’s Ellevate Fund PXWEX, 0.47% voted for every gender equity resolution put before them, while State Street voted for just two of the ten resolutions put before it, while abstaining from two more.
But... that doesn't diminish the initial effect the piece had. It may have been made by cynical fucks for cynical fucking reasons, but - like you said - I've never heard of SHE or PXWEX or any of those others. I have heard of Fearless Girl. The artist's message and intent cut through all the BS, and continues to shine. And, despite SHE's best efforts, we still know who actually made Fearless Girl, and who is actually responsible for those feelings we felt when we first saw it. And in this case, there's no evidence that State Street ever intended to actually do anything for women. Which is important context.