Immerse Blog
Going Deeper with: Aaron Mitchum’s “Pleasures of the Imagination”
by Micah Thomas on March 7th, 2011 -- filed under Arts and Culture
As an artist, I have wondered from time to time what it is that makes art good. I live, think and practice primarily in the musical realm, but I believe whatever can cause art to reach past the surface and into the soul is transferable between mediums. I was delighted to read Aaron Mitchum’s “Pleasures of the Imagination” and learn from his observations. According to Aaron, “Honesty is why some art is great while other art is not. Before technique or form, honesty is first in defining good art.” At first blush, I was not entirely convinced of this simple calculation, but after further consideration, I believe Aaron is really onto something.
We have all experienced art that is enjoyable and that reaches us in ways that cannot be put into words. It can be difficult to determine how much honesty is involved in the creation of such art. However, I believe it is the test of time that will naturally and accurately winnow art that was created with honesty and art that was not. Even cheap, gimmicky, or surface-level art can be attractive, but it has little staying power.
For some, this is best proved through top-40 radio or contemporary Christian music. These genres tend to be self-referencing to the degree that anything new is the same as what came before with only slight modifications. This overplayed and under-created kind of art tends to lose its effect and annoy those who encounter it faster than heavily donned cheap perfume…
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