Good Art is Pure Art

I was reading an excerpt from Plato's 'The Republic' this afternoon when I came across a rather interesting point. Socrates was defining what a good political leader should look like and he simply said that a leader should not be focused on money or honor or power, but instead on how they can best serve their subjects. If a leader is focused on things such as these, he does absolutely nothing for his people, because he only accomplishes what is in his own best interest. I see this to be true with art as well (‘art’ encompassing everything from writing, filmmaking, acting, composing and the typical use of the word). Whereas some artists focus more on their own career than the message they are conveying, or the people they are reaching, you lose the greatness that coincides with purity.

I have often wondered where the valued and treasured artists are in our modern world. I visit bookstores, entertainment stores and museums quite often and I can't help but consider how these various and numerous artists will stand the test of time. I find myself questioning which musicians are today's Beethovens and Handels, which writers compare with Shakespeare and which philosophers (if they even exist anymore) measure up against Locke and Hobbes. Will the Beatles remain iconic of the seventies and will Spielberg still be considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time in a few decades? I have learned from a wise professor of mine that you do not know how influential something has been until 10 to 20 years have passed and we look retrospectively at the incident or creation. I believe there is a lot of truth in this judgment; we truly do not know how something will impact mankind until the impacting has come to completion.