Artist VS Environment Major Assertion
AP Language & Composition
Art & Society “It is almost as safe to assume that an artist of any dignity is against his country, i.e., against the environment in which God hath placed him, as it is to assume that his country is against the artist” (H.L. Mencken). It is safe to say that Mencken’s assumption on the artist against the environment is spot on. Artists are different than everyone else. Artists understand other artists. Normal people do not seem to understand artists.
I consider myself to be an artist. I am nothing like my friends. I would rather spend my afternoon beautifying the façade of a building in the middle of town with my art than studying for an Advanced Placement Biology test. The saddening thing about this is, if I was to go into town and vandalize the frontage of a building on Main Street, I would get in trouble. It would be the artist (me) vs. society (town of *town*, *state*); just as Mencken theorized.
All around the United States and the world, people are finding themselves having to conform to their environments and societies. Artists are those people who will not conform and therefore, they are looked down upon by everyone. Artists are non-conformists and a.) Like to stand out in a crowd 24/7, or b.) Like to stay quiet, mind their own business, and then when they are with their type, they bloom out of their cocoons. Artists prefer to do things that are not done every day. Artists prefer to take the roads less traveled. Artists like to shake it up a bit. Maybe this is why society looks down on artists. Jealousy could be a possibility. Non-artists will come up to an artist and say “Oh, wow! That is a beautiful piece! I wish I could have talent like you do” or “I am so jealous of you! You can paint so well!” The non-artists just snatch your sketchbook and start peeping at everything you have in your sacred journal and you do not know if they are mesmerized or confused by what is on each page. It is not the
Art & Society “It is almost as safe to assume that an artist of any dignity is against his country, i.e., against the environment in which God hath placed him, as it is to assume that his country is against the artist” (H.L. Mencken). It is safe to say that Mencken’s assumption on the artist against the environment is spot on. Artists are different than everyone else. Artists understand other artists. Normal people do not seem to understand artists.
I consider myself to be an artist. I am nothing like my friends. I would rather spend my afternoon beautifying the façade of a building in the middle of town with my art than studying for an Advanced Placement Biology test. The saddening thing about this is, if I was to go into town and vandalize the frontage of a building on Main Street, I would get in trouble. It would be the artist (me) vs. society (town of *town*, *state*); just as Mencken theorized.
All around the United States and the world, people are finding themselves having to conform to their environments and societies. Artists are those people who will not conform and therefore, they are looked down upon by everyone. Artists are non-conformists and a.) Like to stand out in a crowd 24/7, or b.) Like to stay quiet, mind their own business, and then when they are with their type, they bloom out of their cocoons. Artists prefer to do things that are not done every day. Artists prefer to take the roads less traveled. Artists like to shake it up a bit. Maybe this is why society looks down on artists. Jealousy could be a possibility. Non-artists will come up to an artist and say “Oh, wow! That is a beautiful piece! I wish I could have talent like you do” or “I am so jealous of you! You can paint so well!” The non-artists just snatch your sketchbook and start peeping at everything you have in your sacred journal and you do not know if they are mesmerized or confused by what is on each page. It is not the