Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work of art is new, complex, and vital.
I agree with this aphorism strongly. I think that this is very true because the world around us is only affected by art when it brings about new ideas and emotions. If a form of art has been seen or viewed many times before it doesn’t make the viewer or listener feel any differently than they did before so it will never flourish more than the original art it followed. New art is also very vital because without it society can’t make advancements in culture or freedom. Art lets people express how they feel and understand it, so without new art we would all be stuck in one way of feeling or thinking. I think this aphorism can be shown through the example of singer Elvis Presley. Elvis Presley started presenting his art in a time when rock and roll music was never really seen before in his environment. Many people had differing opinions about his music and it stirred up a lot of controversy at first. People thought it was too bold and inappropriate while other people loved the new dancing and music he was bringing to the table. All his songs and dance moves were so new and unique that people didn’t have a predisposed view of it already. Because his songs were complex and different it forced people to discover their own emotion and feelings that it brought out within them. Eventually Elvis ended up changing the music industry and different parts of society, but this was not without rejecting opinions. We think of Elvis now as an icon or a trendsetter in music but it took some time for that to be seen. Any artist who throws a completely new form of art into the world will have to deal with the negative backlash or words from its audiences before it is actually understood for how creative it is. His art was able to bring forward a new sense of individuality and expression that had never been seen before and he wouldn’t have been able to accomplish this without stirring up some differentiating opinions by his audience. It is so vital or important that we have artists in the world like Elvis because without it we would see no change in the world around us. We need these types of artists and art to not become a homogeneous thinking society because without it we would not see or feel the unique aspects of ourselves displayed around us. It would force us to all be replicas of each other and would diminish creativity and self. It’s very easy to see the connection between this aphorism and Elvis Presely once explained but I bet if you look into any artist you admire you will see when they first presented their art to the world it probably wasn’t admired by all and that is what truly makes them an artist.