The artists have long been the people on the outskirts of society, the ones who challenge the status quo, push to break away from restrictions, and favour freedom. But although we all understand the generalised definition of freedom, when you look more closely, it seems that its interpretation evolves with each passing decade and cultural shift.

Not so long ago, being an artist was heavily synonymous with an idea of freedom that was associated with the excessive consumption of everything that was looked down upon in society. Sex, booze, drugs, cigarettes… ‘unruly’ lifestyles that refused to play by the rules that people were indirectly expected to follow. To do those things was to risk being shamed, to not do them was to hand over their freedom to the powers that be. It all depended on what was more important to you and what it was that you believed in.

I think we can all agree that there is no one perfect way to live life that will suit us all, and that to live under oppressive expectations and manipulative constraints is enough to drive anyone to pursue the opposite. Perhaps it is because, fundamentally, we do not like to be told what to do. We like to have the one thing we believe we are owed, and that is the right to choose.

And I agree…

However, looking at the world now, I see how we have inherited the understanding of what it means to be a rebel from those who paved the way before us. But as the world has changed beyond recognition, when we try on their clothes, we find that they don’t fit anymore. We have become so wrapped up in the nostalgia of what it meant to be them in their time, that we forget that it was never supposed to be a game of copycat. In worshipping the tragic lives of the artists of the past, we forget to recognise the true grit it took for many of them to overcome the challenges and limitations of their era, and believe that by imitating their more superficial actions, like drinking and whatnot, we can pretend to understand their struggles just because we also identify as an ‘artist’. And yet, their story is unique to them and is not the aspect of their legacy that we should be trying to replicate.

In part 2 of this series, I discussed how it felt many of the artists of our time seem to be products of their industries, unwilling to speak out about anything even vaguely controversial either within their art or even as a person. In Western society, we already have plenty of the drinking, and the smoking, and the sleeping with everyone attitude. It is so normalised, for better or for worse, it isn’t really a rebellion anymore, in fact for many, it seems to be becoming more and more pitiful. As I have said, the artists of the past acted the way that they did as a way to fight for freedom and to escape their social barriers, and usually it was reflected in what they created. Their creative output had a purpose and often that was clearly defined.

Truthfully, the artists in history were really quite successful in their ventures. We are witness to a far more open-minded world than there was a century ago, even only decades ago. No doubt, there is always more progress to be made, however, as the times have changed way past the recognition of our ancestors, I believe that the goal posts have moved yet again. The fight for freedom in the last century was a quest largely based on identity and opportunity. Being able to externalise and express all the things that make us unique and individual humans, and having the opportunities to pursue our dreams, goals, and interests without the barriers of class and poverty.

But in an age where we are beginning to see the terrible effects of capitalism and over-consumption on our planet, where technology has seeped into every aspect of our lives and we are seeing the rapid rise of AI, and where even the things that should be somewhat neutral, such as food production and medicine, seem to have a paper trail that reveals insidious money-making means, it seems that there are many more threats to our freedom that are very much unique to our time. Romanticising the plight of the former artists, and wearing their suffering as a costume just won’t cut it anymore. We have our own problems that we need to fight in our own way.