Quote of the Day: Joshua Fineberg
If one believes in the intrinsic value of art, then--contrary to most contemporary ways of thinking--taste and social construction are of decidedly secondary importance.
This quote is from a piece entitled "Classical Music: Why Bother?" that I read because it was suggested to me by my friend Preston. The piece suggests that our "lack of understanding/like" for Classical Music is actually indicative of a larger problem we have with "Art" (note the Capital A). He suggests, and I agree with him, that Art exists because we get something out of it, because we take something way for the experience and that it is not necessarily there to make us feel good or so that we can draw enjoyment from it.
Preston originally gave me the article as a source of inspiration for a mix CD I was making him at the time. I asked him for a theme, and the article was his response to my request. He wanted not something that he would expect, or something that he would enjoy necessarily, but something that he would give him an experience that we would, afterwards, not want to be without. I think my mix CD fell short of this incredibly lofty aim, but I think it is a good aim and something that should be considered a lot more often, not just of our artistic work, but of work in general.
