The point
after all is the application of art to life, and you have got to
condescend. Things of which the ultimate end is to affect human
beings must take human beings into account. If you aim at appealing
only to other craftsmen, it becomes an erudite business: you become
like a carpenter who makes things which are of no use except to win
the admiration of other carpenters. Of course it may be worth doing
if you are content with indicating a treatment which other people
can apply and popularise. But if you isolate art into a theory
which has no application to life, you are a savant and not an
artist. You can't be an artist without being a man, and therefore I
hold that humanity comes first. I don't mean that one need be
vulgar. Of course I am a mere professional, and my primary aim is
to earn an honest livelihood. I frankly confess that I don't pose,
even to myself, as a public benefactor. But Herries does not care
either about an income, or about touching other people. Of course I
should like to raise the standard.
Pages:
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305