Does Pain Elevate Art?

You are describing the process of alienation in modern society. The artist as producer of culture creates a complete representation of his or her subjective self. Today, due to division of labor, the tasks that people do are subdivided so the end purpose is invisible and hence lost, that is why there is so much aimlessness and confusion- and therefore the means become ends in themselves. Humans have become consumption oriented- due to the preponderance of objective culture (products) over subjective culture- described well by Simmel the sociologist. This is mostly due to the money economy and the capitalist world which has been forced upon humainty. The very soul of what it means to be human has been destroyed. You`ll find this short flash video of use http://robots.asadi.org

It is very painful to read your essay. Instead of asking “does pain elevate art”,,, you should find out whether “art elevates pain”. I think your essay is less about “Art” and more about sexuality. It is, at times, very homo-erotic. Let me quote from your painful essay, and tell me if the following is not what I think it is:

>>>>Their experience of pain and pleasure was not limited to their personal dimension. They incorporated the impersonal pains and pleasures into their personal pains and pleasures because they experienced their magnitude amongst their society. The themes that they used and the art that they produced were revolutionary.<<<<

Modern ``Art`` CAUSES pain .......

Somehow we tend to ignore simple explanations and opt for bizarre to make ourselves appear intelligent. Pain is basic survival tool, yet pain is variously assumed to cleanse us of our sins and a means to appease deity. I have seen people fasting, rolling instead of walking to shrines, lashing, impaling and doing stuff like that in the assumption that Gods will appreciate their efforts. Beats me! Why, doesn’t this reduce God into some kind of tyrannical zamindaar? The assumption that pain elevates art too is similar myth.

By the way art is pain to those who do not understand it.

It is very good to keep thinking and writing, trying to make sense of your world. Don`t be discouraged by people accusing you of trying to ``appear intelligent``. Pain has a social meaning and has produced great cultural works of art and music. This does not mean one should feign pain or bring pain on oneself. Human existance is not merely physical, the very thing that makes us different from the animal world is the ability to give meaning to things and events.

I am sorry for appearing intelligent. It is not intentional but speaks of something that is uncultivated in me. I just want to mention two things. The topic, `` Does Pain Elevate Art?`` is not decided by me. Its a surprize given to me by one of the chowk editors. I never wished to think, Does pain elevate art? What i was unable to communicate is ``Can a greater sense of pleasure produce revolutionary art? or `` Can an intellectually conditioned substance of art lead to a greater sense of pleasure? What i have emphasized is that the magnitude of the experience of pleasure, in principle, cannot exceed the magnitude of the experience of pain. The artist can stimulate deeper pleasure in the audience, if he himself is capable to recognize and experience it. However, for producing an art of such calibre, the artist must posess a deeper sense of pleasure that bespeaks of a deeper recognition and experience of pain. I know that the above piece of writing is obscure. I am working on my mind and i hope that i will be able to write well soon.

The audience if experience a deeper sense of pleasure will become able to reflect upon the pain of inertia because of an increased sensitivity to pleasure. The revolution lies in the response of the audience. However, thanks masadi for encouraging and thanks others for being critical.