The Value of the (Artistic) Self

So what is the definition, and the value, of the self in artistic terms?

First, and foremost, is that “the self” is defined by caring for others, by prioritising that care for others above care for oneself (freed from the neoliberal/anarcho-capitalist model, this is not problematic) which enables freedom in the widest sense of the term. One’s freedom and self is based on the freedom of, and care for, others. Thus, the language and concepts of neoliberalism become redundant: words such as ‘jealousy’, ‘envy’, ‘greed’ no longer have any foundation, they are meaningless. The insistence on ‘consistency’ is also rendered obsolete as the ideology that enshrines this is exposed as precisely that – ideology. The structures of separation, fragmentation and opposition collapse, again revealed for the control mechanisms that they are.

The self, therefore, becomes something unrecognisable to what we currently think of when we cite the term. Without the need for consistency, the self, based on freedom of, and caring for, others becomes, to put it dramatically, a “many splendored thing”. The Artistic Self is (an) aesthetic creations, that admits endless possibilities, continual flows (multidirectional), successions of (what we now call) others. We can reference Nietzsche’s “aesthetics of self creation”, which sees the self as a work of art that is under continual revision and addition. There’s also Heidegger’s contention that to talk of ‘being’ is to make a mistake; we should instead talk of ‘becoming’. Heidegger argues that we are in a perpetual state of becoming until our deaths, that our selves never reach a point where they become static.

In terms of values, the self values the freedom of, and care for, others, therefore, these values are those of the community. Art is ‘about’ understanding: its fascination is in the insights that we gain into other people, its ability to give us imaginative experience of situations that we never encounter, its representation of emotions, its ability to cause us to feel “as if” these people, situations, emotions were ‘real’. Coupled with understanding are the ways in which we learn from Art, the ways in which Art teaches us – although there’s a terminology problem here: how do we distinguish understanding, learning and teaching?

Art imbues us with the infinite possibilities that it illustrates. As such, we too become a part of these infinite possibilities. Through artistic imagination, the human person achieves their potentiality – becomes ‘really’ human if you like. The pleasure of Art is cognitive. Compare this to the neoliberal ‘formulation’ of art as an escape from reality, a rejection of the “real world” which is, apparently, a world of competition, conflict and continual struggle. Art in this world is literally an escape from the mundanity of existence, a way of living vicariously – entering environments and lives that will never, can never, be achieved. Art becomes an escape from the frustrations of everyday life.

The self in the neoliberal world is an entity constructed to keep the world at bay, to fend off aggression. Imagination is defined by (defined) images of ‘success’. Economic success allows self-expression, but your self-expression is linked to the suppression of others’ selves. To have or to have not – the simple binary opposition of neoliberalism. Care and caring is a weakness that will cause your downfall. Freedom is something for you to earn (literally) at the expense of the majority.