Art by monsters: separate or skip?
Source: vox.com
TL;DR
- Vox article grapples with enjoying art by artists accused of abuse amid #MeToo, like Johnny Depp in Edward Scissorhands.
- "Separate the artist from the art" stems from New Criticism but gets challenged by postmodern reader agency and context views.
- No universal fix exists; people mix theory, emotion, and boycotts to decide what to consume.
The story at a glance
Constance Grady examines the tension between loving art and learning its creator faces abuse allegations, spotlighting cases like Johnny Depp, Woody Allen, Louis C.K., and others.[[1]](https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/10/11/17933686/me-too-separating-artist-art-johnny-depp-woody-allen-louis-ck)[[2]](https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/10/11/17933686/me-too-separating-artist-art-johnny-depp-woody-allen-michael-jackson-louis-ck) It critiques the mantra to separate artist from art as one limited tool among literary theories. The piece came out in fall 2018 as #MeToo revelations piled up against high-profile figures.
Key points
- Author's love for Edward Scissorhands sours after Amber Heard's 2016 domestic violence claims against Depp; scenes now feel off, prioritizing the abuser's vulnerability.[[1]](https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/10/11/17933686/me-too-separating-artist-art-johnny-depp-woody-allen-louis-ck)
- Other examples include Michael Jackson's Thriller, Louis C.K.'s Louie, Harvey Weinstein-backed Shakespeare in Love, Woody Allen's Manhattan, and Bill Cosby's The Cosby Show.
- New Criticism (early 1900s, T.S. Eliot) treats art as autonomous, ignoring biography for "scientific" analysis; this birthed the separation idea.
- Postmodernism ("death of the author," Roland Barthes 1967) hands meaning to readers, allowing feminist reclaims of flawed works.
- Modern critics blend history and reader power; some study toxic artists like Ezra Pound or David Foster Wallace critically, others skip them to avoid complicity in misogyny.
- Boycotting starves predators financially, though it gets messy with streaming or old exposure.
Details and context
The article traces "separate the art" back to New Criticism's push to professionalize lit crit, making it like science by ditching author gossip. Postmodernism flips it: readers co-create, so you can wrest control from creeps like Woody Allen or Roman Polanski.[[1]](https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/10/11/17933686/me-too-separating-artist-art-johnny-depp-woody-allen-louis-ck)
Today, no pure split works—art ties to its era, but you can rethink it personally. Critics like Amy Hungerford ditch Wallace because his books echo real-life abuse patterns; Claire Hayes-Brady says love art that speaks to you, flaws and all.
Boycotts hit wallets but don't erase past cultural impact. Grady stays split on Depp: can't unlove or undisgust the film.
Key quotes
- Josephine Livingstone on Woody Allen and Polanski: “I consider Woody Allen and Roman Polanski’s movies gifts... and I’m never giving them back... We, the viewers, do.”[[1]](https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/10/11/17933686/me-too-separating-artist-art-johnny-depp-woody-allen-louis-ck)
- Amy Hungerford on skipping David Foster Wallace: “We’re manipulated by the text... in ways that are structurally similar to the way he manipulated the women in his life.”[[1]](https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/10/11/17933686/me-too-separating-artist-art-johnny-depp-woody-allen-louis-ck)