What is art for?

Axis: art matters in itself ... art matters by what it changes

John

date	change	position	video
2008-05-21	new	John says we must get past the idea that art is merely supposed to be pleasurable; books need not offer characters to identify with.	Guys Love Giraffe Love 00:00:41
2008-08-26	new	John says literary symbolism is Holden's way into us and our way out of ourselves, answering those who say English class ruins books.	The Catcher in the Rye, Part 2 00:03:15
2009-09-28	new	John argues TV for chickens shows contemporary art can be good by raising all kinds of interesting questions.	TV For Chickens 00:02:08
2010-03-11	refine	John says that as a writer he aims to tell good and true stories rather than to serve or win sympathy for an agenda.	New Tour! New Book! (Remember Books?) Your Q's A'ed! 00:02:35
2010-06-17	refine	John: good contemporary art forces us to think more complexly about the spaces we overlook, and failing to grapple with complexity is a bad life strategy.	In Defense of Contemporary Art 00:01:59
2011-09-07	restate	John rejects the idea that characters in books are supposed to be likable: books are in the business of creating great stories, not merely likable characters for simple identification.	The Great Gatsby: Living the Dream in the Valley of Ashes 00:01:40
2012-01-10	new	John says reading and writing, when they work, bring fanaa, a dissolution of the self; writing TFIOS he felt he transcended the limits of himself.	The Fault in Our Stars 00:02:55
2013-05-21	refine	John argues good art matters, and always has, even when it 'makes nothing happen': Ai's rebar work gives form to love, anger and grief amid tragic statistics.	Poetry Makes Nothing Happen: Thoughts on Ai Weiwei from the Indianapolis Museum of Art 00:03:24

Hank

date	change	position	video
2012-07-13	tension	Hank says he reads very differently from John: for what books do to him, not how they do it; analysing all the time would stop the book doing its work.	An Army of Mindless Drones 00:00:00