Is Art "wrong"?

[Andraz]

When watching Leo's video "What's Wrong With Ego" a question came up.
Is it the ego that decides whether some things are good/bad, important/non-important, beautiful/ugly?
If so, is art, which is essentially something people create for the sake of creating something beautiful, inherently "wrong"?

I would love to see your opinions on this.

[Neo]

Well I can't recall the particular video, but my answer would be art, can't be wrong or right, it's just a product of the universe "machine."

[Frogfucius]

There is nothing right or wrong about anything... Our fascination with music and art go hand-in-hand with our capabilities of recognizing symbols, abstraction, and patterns. It's not much different than our ability of recognizing complex verbal and written languages. Are you going to say language is wrong?

[Dodo]

Here come the spiritual contradictions tho. If nothing is good or bad why are we saying ego is bad mkaay. Why is our survival as a species good, or our having nice lives. Its from our point of view, and from here, there definitely is good or bad. 

Art is a complex form of expression. It's amazing in my view and it makes life interesting.

[FindingPeace]

29 minutes ago, Andraz said:

If so, is art, which is essentially something people create for the sake of creating something beautiful, inherently "wrong"?

There is nothing inherently wrong, or right, about anything, It is only the subjective judgment of an ego that makes that determination. And, egos vary from person to person as do their subjective experiences. So right or wrong is only in the eye of the beholder. It isn't inherent.

[Dodo]

1 minute ago, FindingPeace said:

There is nothing inherently wrong, or right, about anything, It is only the subjective judgment of an ego that makes that determination. And, egos vary from person to person as do their subjective experiences. So right or wrong is only in the eye of the beholder. It isn't inherent.

Ok come on guys get your head in the game. Hes not saying is art bad for The entirety of the conceivable and inconceivable, but to a human being. Because art does closely link with ego and arent we all saying Yes. EGO is bad for human beings. Although its neither good or bad to the higher forces at play.

 

Khm..

[Andraz]

I believe I didn't phrase this properly. I'll give you an example.
I listen to a certain style of music. I don't like certain styles of music.
Is me creating music that I like an egoic pursuit? Can an artist be enlightened, since creating art is creating what one finds beautiful?

I know it is a weird question.

[Dodo]

Dont worry birds also create sound, its bout doing your thing. As long as you dont intend to harm others with your music its fine

[Saarah]

4 minutes ago, Andraz said:

I believe I didn't phrase this properly. I'll give you an example.
I listen to a certain style of music. I don't like certain styles of music.
Is me creating music that I like an egoic pursuit? Can an artist be enlightened, since creating art is creating what one finds beautiful?

I know it is a weird question.

 Preferences and tastes of that sort come from impressions formed on us from experience and whatever other factors as an ego 

So an enlightened person might notice that preference for what it is rather than judging it inherently as a more valuable preference than any other but still express the preference because it is a reality for the ego self which is still there but they see through it 

[kurt]

6 minutes ago, Saarah said:

 Preferences and tastes of that sort come from impressions formed on us from experience and whatever other factors as an ego 

So an enlightened person might notice that preference for what it is rather than judging it inherently as a more valuable preference than any other but still express the preference because it is a reality for the ego self which is still there but they see through it 

In other words, non binding preferences.

Thank you  Great response

[Prabhaker]

1 hour ago, Andraz said:

If so, is art, which is essentially something people create for the sake of creating something beautiful, inherently "wrong"?

When ambition enters, creativity disappears -- because an ambitious man cannot be creative, because an ambitious man cannot love any activity for its own sake. While he is painting he is looking ahead; he is thinking, 'When am I going to get a Nobel Prize?' When he is writing a novel, he is looking ahead. He is always in the future -- and a creative person is always in the present. 

Ego is the enemy of creativity.If your act is your love affair then it becomes creative. Creativity is the quality you bring to the activity you are doing. It is an attitude, an inner approach – how you look at things. Whatsoever you do, if you do it joyfully, if you do it lovingly, then it is creative.

[Frogfucius]

45 minutes ago, Dodoster said:

Its from our point of view, and from here, there definitely is good or bad. 

No, because even from point of view to point of view, there is still no definite good or bad.

If ego is bad from a human's perspective, and there are definite 'good and bads', then the development of civilization is bad. The development of language is bad. Everything that enabled an evolution of the ego is bad.

[Prabhaker]

7 minutes ago, Frogfucius said:

then the development of civilization is bad.

Only barbarians can do things that we have been doing for thousands of years, we are still not completely civilized. More conscious man will be far more civilized. 

[DoubleYou]

First of all, there's nothing wrong with ego. Only ego can think the ego is wrong. 

As a professional music producer I've been thinking a lot about this. It's hard to say if art is from the ego or not. It's expression, so it's probably both.
I've always used art as a way to express my sense of wonder and awe. Because music goes beyond words it's a great tool for that.

I've noticed that when I'm writing for egoic reasons it never really works out. My best work happens from unexpected inspirational moments. Mostly when there's no thought involved.

Bottom line, I don't really care where it's from since I don't think I'm in control of this urge to create. It just pours out occasionally. And what a great feeling it is. 

[Leo Gura]

It's a good idea to sit down -- at least one time in your life -- and seriously ask yourself, "What do the concepts right and wrong actually mean?"

[30secs]

@Andraz the key that Ive found out from that episode was not about morality, it's more on about physics, like if you don't use your ego wisely then there's a consequence to it.

[Emerald]

On September 28, 2016 at 11:13 AM, Andraz said:

When watching Leo's video "What's Wrong With Ego" a question came up.
Is it the ego that decides whether some things are good/bad, important/non-important, beautiful/ugly?
If so, is art, which is essentially something people create for the sake of creating something beautiful, inherently "wrong"?

I would love to see your opinions on this.

There's no such thing as right or wrong. But I think there's a fine line between creating to add to the ego and creating from a place of authentic desire to create. Most people, the urge to create comes from a desire to get somewhere with their creation or add value in some way to their self-concept. They wouldn't create unless it has something of benefit to the self-concept. But a person who creates simply from the desire to create, this is not an inherently ego-sustaining practice. Realistically, however, a person's actions will always match their state of consciousness. So, a person who's identified with ego, cannot extricate the ego from creation. So, the best thing to do is to accept where you are. Continue to create, because it's likely a mixed bag of genuine inspiration and egoic ambition. But try to expand your awareness so that you can see exactly where the ego begins and ends in your creative endeavors. But don't suppress your drives for creativity... this will spin the illusion of ego in a much more profound way because you'd be in resistance to what comes most naturally... ego driven or not. 

[Andraz]

Thanks for all your answers. Some great insights here. Really appreciated.