I'm glad that Dylan finally stepped down from his throne to accept the
award. I've tried to piece together some justificatory argument that might
put at rest my irritation over his obdurate position. It could be argued
that Mr. Dylan had disdain for any and all who dared judge and put rankings
upon any works of art. Good art is whatever speaks to *you*, bad art is
that which leaves *you* utterly indifferent. That is to say (as many do):
"I don't know much about Art, but I know what I like." Yes, and I agree.
Aesthetic experiences are radically personal. Of course, those English
majors who have sweated through incredibly boring college classes in
Literary Appreciation, tend to believe that they are the final arbiters of
art. Dylan, I believe, did not want any High Priests blessing or
anathematizing his (or anyone's poems or songs or any kind of work of art.
Which is exactly what this award does, it sanctifies his works. Dylan's
view I believe -- purely because I want to -- is that every individual is
the Supreme judge of his or her aesthetic experience and that such
judgments are purely idiosyncratic and that any "Board of Art" is
antithetical to art. Whereas some aesthetic experiences come forth as
loose, expansive, joyful dancing feelings, others pummel the heart with
angst laden emotions, still others fill the eyes with tears of joy, tears
of compassion, tears of deepest sadness. They are all incidental instances
subject to being turned into words. Which words and the way that the words
are arranged -- that's what it's all about. That's what rips your heart
apart, or not or sends you off laughing. I am the judge when it comes to
me, and you are your own judge. Neither of us is right except within our
own self. Those intricate Gordian knots that defy all attempts to
disentangle one's self from an aesthetic experience, those words and how
they fell onto the page, that experience -- is your experience and no one
else's. The author may well have experienced just what you experienced
reading or hearing his words or he/she may have intended something quite
other than what you experienced reading/hearing his/her song or poem --
there is no right or wrong when it comes to aesthetic experience and any
attempt to explain the aesthetic experience frequently leaves one more
entangled in confusion than before any such attempts. That, I believe, is
what motivated Dylan's resistance to such awards -- he wanted to keep his
works and his thoughts, his mind and his heart out of the hands of
"officialdom." If you like it, go with it. If you don't, then fuck it.
But it's your decision, not the board of some boring Art's Appreciation
Board.
So saith I.
On Mon, Dec 5, 2016 at 4:00 PM, Robert Paul <rpaul@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-38209520
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Robert Paul
