Hannah Martinson
“To reveal art and conceal the artist is art’s aim.”
I find this to be a fascinating aphorism, mainly because I think it is so direct and true. In today’s society, we tie art and its artist so tightly together we can barely distinguish one from the other. If an artist displays their politics to the world, then their work shares the same values. Kanye West has been discussed endlessly. We go over every little thing he has said throughout his career and each mental illness he could possibly have. Then, we attach this discord to the music he releases. Instead of listening to what the music is saying, we immediately relate it to its creator’s life. We do not let the art speak for itself. I do not believe this is how art is meant to be perceived. Art and its creator are not the same, and a true artist will conceal themselves to allow their art to be seen without any bias attached to it.
This aphorism immediately made me think of the early career of H.E.R., an American R&B musician. H.E.R. first began gaining popularity for her work around 2016. Her music was incredibly soulful and her lyrics made listeners reflect inwards. Her art is undeniably beautiful. Funnily enough, H.E.R. is an acronym for “Having Everything Revealed,” which is supposed to be ironic but I believe parallels greatly to Wilde’s quote. What relates her to this aphorism is how she maintained anonymity in the early infancy of her career. Her real identity remained unknown to the public and she did not reveal her face in any music video or album covers. She allowed her music to take precedence over herself.
Despite the world now knowing her true identity, H.E.R. still performs wearing sunglasses and keeps her face hidden in any kind of artwork. She is determined to remain an anonymous as possible to shift the focus onto her art. This anonymity allows listeners to connect with her music and lyrics without being influenced by any aspect of her and her life. Her music speaks for itself, and has clearly done a fantastic job doing so. She has garnered immense praise from the masses and also multiple awards for her music. When she does win these awards, she still conceals her face.
H.E.R. is the perfect example of Wilde’s aphorism and separating the art from the artist. She intentionally hid her identity to let her music speak for itself. She did not want superficiality to hinder the messages she desired to release to the world. When she releases love songs, she wants her audience to relate to and reflect on them. She does not want the world to automatically wonder who she specifically writes these songs about. She often creates music that revolves around the evolution into womanhood. With her identity hidden, women can relate to her art completely, with no hindrance.
“To reveal art and conceal the artist is art’s aim.” Society needs to understand what this means and follow it. We must stop letting an artist’s personal life minimize the voice of their art. They are not one and the same. We need to allow the art to speak for itself. If we can do this, art will have an entirely new meaning.
I definitely agree with the idea that separating art from the artist itself enhances their work to a certain degree. When an artists personality is widely known, sometimes people focus too much on the artists train of thought that true appreciation of the art produced is absent. I think H.E.R containing her identity is a perfect example of how concealing ones identity can improve their art.
I believe that Kanye West is a perfect example of what can go wrong when we don’t conceal the artist and separate them from their art. When Kanye’s discography stands alone, it speaks for itself. However, when we begin to let outside media dictate what the music is trying to say, it can ruin it.