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Critic as Censor: How the Humanities Sacrificed Art at the Altar of Theory

My beloved friend, mentor, and Columbia University Professor Howard Stein, was fond of saying, “The Enemy of the Arts is the Humanities.” That insight, and advice, has stuck with me over the past 35 years. Now, that phrase is not the glib provocation it may seem. It is a precise diagnosis of an institutional disease, a declaration of war against a century of academic drift that has created a schism between the act of creation and the act of analysis, and we’re here to discuss this with you today. The Arts, in their purest form, are the domain of creation itself, of non-verbal expression, of performance, and of the direct, visceral encounter with an aesthetic object.1 They are a primary, generative impulse. The Humanities, by contrast, have become the domain of secondary analysis, of verbal codification, of research, and, most critically, of the theory of the arts.1 The relationship is not symbiotic; it is parasitic. Over the past half‑century, many university humanities programs, eager to claim scientific gravitas yet wary of prescriptive taste, have privileged metacritical theory over direct aesthetic encounter, often at the expense of studio practice. They have replaced the artwork with the interpretation, the artist with the critic, and beauty with politics. The evidence for this enmity is overwhelming, found in the testimony of artists, the language of critics, and the desperation of shrinking university budgets.

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The Sponsored Post Brigade

I’m not sure what’s going on with this blog, and my verified Facebook page, but over the last few months, I’ve been getting lots of requests — more than usual — to add paid links in my old articles as well as being offered “thousands of dollars” to post advertising on my Facebook page.

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Did Skechers BOBS Steal from TOMS?

We have been discussing the many facets of creative inspiration versus creative theft and outright theft. My wife and I recently found ourselves face to face with what seemed to us like blatant thievery and I had to bring it to your attention so that you don’t buy the stolen ideas over the original one.

We were walking down Broadway toward Whole Foods to get some nourishing food for our little man when I happened to notice a display of shoes in a shoe store window. I am a fan of vegan accessories including shoes although I try to live as frugally as I can to put aside money for Chaim’s university funding. I was excited because I recognized the shoes from a distance — they were TOMS shoes, a brilliant vegan brand that not only makes simple yet attractive shoes but donates a pair of shoes to a child in need of a pair of shoes. (This is usually in a third world country.)

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Elvis Costello Does Not Want You to Buy His Album

Generally speaking, when a musician puts in dozens of hours of work into writing, practicing, and then laying down the tracks on a new album, they want to do what they can to help push album sales — if they intend to make money as a musician, one good way is to make salable albums. If they promote their albums in their own way, it helps ensure their future as a professional full time musician.

Sometimes, however, the musician gets the feeling that their record label is going too far in reaching into the pockets of their fans, and when this happens, the musician hits a crossroad. Do they just go along with the label and pretend that they do not notice that their label is stabbing their fans in the back, hitting them where it hurts because they know that they will pay anything to get art associated with their favorite artists?

This is not the route that Elvis Costello chose to take. Even though it would seem to be in Costello’s best interest to recommend buying his new release, a box set including a book, he tells fans that buying the set would not be advisable.

Costello acknowledged that it was a “beautifully designed compendium.” However, writing on his website, he told fans: “There was a time when the release of a new title by your favourite record artist was a cause for excitement and rejoicing but sadly no more.

“Unfortunately, we at http://www.elviscostello.com find ourselves unable to recommend this lovely item to you as the price appears to be either a misprint or a satire.”

Instead of buying the release as is, he suggests they wait awhile and buy the components of the set when they go on sale separately. That way it is more affordable to the average fan.

There are two ways to look at this. From the perspective of the label, it would seem that this is quite a betrayal from Costello. On the other hand, the label surely realizes that there are plenty of fans that are enthusiastic enough about the music of Elvis Costello that even telling them not to buy it will not make a difference. This is especially the case since only one thousand five hundred copies of this special box set were produced.

From the perspective of the average fan, on the other hand, it would seem like Costello is standing up for their rights as fans not to get ripped off to get access to his music. Of course, as a musician that is signed to the label, the real question is whether Costello has the right to tell his fans to do something that would be actively defying the label that, in a way, employs him?

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The New York Times Loses Control of their Content with a Paywall

Yesterday, I received this email notice from the New York Times that they would, once again, begin charging me for reading their content.

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