Bad Artist/Good Art?

Full Tuition: $300 — Scholarship options are available in the drop-down enrollment menu for you to self-select.

Instructor: Hollis | Mondays | August 28-September 25 | 7:00-9:00 PM ET | ONLINE 

It can be disappointing, even downright devastating, when an artist we love turns out to have done something terrible. What should we do with works created by problematic (or even bad) people? Clare Dederer’s recent book, Monster: A Fan’s Dilemma, explores this idea, but the problem is not a new one. Mary Shelley asked the question as early as 1818. In her novel Frankenstein, she dramatizes the effects of a neglectful creator on his creation. Can we separate the creator from the creation? Should we? Many readers think so. Or at least they hope that it’s still okay to love Harry Potter or enjoy a Woody Allen movie. This course will examine these questions and consider what we can do about monstrous creators. Can we forgive them? Do we want to? Do our choices about artistic consumption have social and political effects? We will look at several examples across time to examine the consequences of artists’ actions. We will think about whether the creator’s identity (their gender, sexuality, race, for example) changes how we connect the artist with their art. We’ll ultimately explore our own complicated feelings when a beloved creator’s work  is revealed as problematic. Together we’ll read about and discuss creators such as T.S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf, Ezra Pound, Pablo Picasso, Valerie Solanas, Michael Jackson, David Bowie, Miles Davis, Junot Diaz, and more.

Classes are recorded to allow for students to participate asynchronously. If you want to take a class but cannot make the class time, sign up for the asynchronous audit option to follow along on your own. Recordings are password protected and will only be available for the duration of the class and two weeks after it ends.

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Night School Bar pays instructors and staff a living wage, and your tuition goes toward supporting this practice. Please pick the payment tier that corresponds to your needs, and consider our commitment to fair labor practices when doing so. We will never request or require proof of need, and do not use an income-based sliding scale; we trust you to decide what payment tier is right for you. If you would like additional support deciding or would like to learn more about the practice of using a sliding scale, we recommend this resource from Embracing Equity. 

We are currently able to offer three full scholarships per class, and one full scholarship per person per term. If the scholarship tier you need is sold out or you would like to pay tuition on an installment basis, please email us directly, and we will work with you.

If at any point up to 48 hours before your first class session you realize you will be unable to take the class, please email us and we will reallocate your funds to a future class, to another student’s scholarship, or refund it. After that point, we are able to offer 50% refunds.