“Some of my favourite pieces of art are made by the worst people”: Can an artist’s personal life be separated from their art?

Illustrations by Grace McKenna

Artists are probably the luckiest people to exist. They usually have some sort of talent that was just bestowed upon them at birth, and from there on out they found their niche and stuck with it. Musicians, writers, actors, painters, poets - they are the privileged, but also the damaged. 

When thinking about the most significant pieces of art ever created, I can almost guarantee that the artists behind them are not always morally sound. Of course, they are only human — and humans are imperfect — but what about when they act in ways that are criminal, abusive, or misogynistic? There is a clear distinction between being a lousy person and assaulting women, so this begs the question whether the art should be separated from the artist.

On the surface, an artist’s life and their work are obviously interconnected, therefore it is impossible to consider them apart. Take Pablo Picasso for example: he is one of the greats, but most of his work was influenced by his misogynistic views. He used women, referring to them as ‘machines’ to service his art and sexual needs. Now when I look at some of his work, such as the Weeping Woman, it is conflicting to not think of the process that fuelled it.

His mental abuse does not make me want to support him as an artist, but what is more difficult is that his work is still mesmerising, and I enjoy experiencing it. His personal life does not change the way the art can make a person feel — that is out of our control — but some say that it can distort our perception of the work once they learn about the artist. Have a look at the Weeping Woman, now knowing the inspiration behind it: what are your opinions on the art itself?

For modern-day art, in areas such as film and music, the same dilemma perplexes me. The Smiths is a band full of unique sounds, melancholic and intricate lyrics that have carried me through my young adult life, and I play them time and time again, but lead singer Morrissey isn't exactly unproblematic. He has often made controversial far right, homophobic and racist comments, but I would pay to see him live — I have paid for their music before. Their songs are important to me, for the same reasons that everyone enjoys music. Their songs have a positive impact, through the lyrics and sounds; they are resonating and make me feel, regardless of the person Morrissey is. Is this support wrong? Whilst I do not agree with his arrogance or care to know him, I definitely care about his work, and he is entitled to his own opinion. But would this be a different story if he did something horrendous?

By horrendous, I mean something so inexplicably awful that no matter how much talent they have, their work could be overshadowed by their life. Filmmakers Roman Polanski and Woody Allen come to mind when I began contemplating this question: there is no denying they are extraordinary at what they do. Nonetheless, watching a Roman Polanski film after discovering he was arrested for the statutory rape of a 13-year-old, which brought a plethora of more rape allegations, has changed the way I see his films — necessarily in that I dislike them, but that I just would not even consider watching them. But if someone showed me The Pianist and I did not know it was a Polanski film, I am positive that I'd appreciate it as a great piece of art.

This should not change just after discovering the movie. The same goes for the Weeping Woman; I think it is an eccentric and captivating painting, and despite bringing negative emotions, it is simply well-done.

Whether this makes me a hypocrite, I am not sure; enjoying pieces of art does not mean you enjoy the person who made it, but without the artist there is no art. There has got to be some level of appreciation for them;  we would be lying to ourselves if we think we can stop valuing art to a high standard based on the artist. The art doesn’t become worse just because it was made by the worst type of individual.

Some of my favourite pieces of art are made by the worst people.