I have certain issues with the Rodarte sisters. Issues born from their “Mexico inspired” collaboration with MAC featuring ghostly nail polish and blood-streaked eyeshadow inappropriately titled “Juarez” to their blatant self-promotion of Black Swan that discredited the work of other costumers involved in the project. However, I still really enjoy their clothing designs. So the question is: are certain allowances appropriate to make for “creative geniuses?”
I often find that we do make allowances for brilliant people or artists, perhaps because their contributions to society are supposedly greater than their faults or because their personal lives shouldn’t be a factor when we judge their work. Still, I find it puzzling that girls who participate in Slutwalks to reclaim the term slut and stand by sexual assault victims who have been told that their attacks were their fault, enjoy and support films by Roman Polanski (who was convicted of statutory rape but fled the country to avoid imprisonment). Another example (from the fashion world): John Galliano’s anti-Semantic rant in a Parisian cafe nearly a year ago. Of course, for every example we have there are dozens of untold stories—if John Galliano had never opened his mouth, he’d still be designing for Dior. Further, both of these examples are of personal lives/beliefs; if they don’t behave like that in their work-space can we separate their work lives from their personal lives? Besides, who among us is blameless and innocent; we all make mistakes, so who can judge?
Of course, one difference between Galliano and Rodarte is: John Galliano has been ousted by the fashion community, sentenced by the French government for his crime, and generally made to suffer for his racist rant. The Mulleavy sisters continue to collaborate with MAC, receive credit for the costume design of Black Swan, and generally remain darlings of the fashion community. My issues with Rodarte stem not from their personal lives, but is directly related to their work. As of now, I enjoy the designs of Rodarte, but I feel uncomfortable posting on them (although I still do on occasion).
Yet one final worry that arises for me is, why do we make these allowances for geniuses of the arts or science when we wouldn’t make them for an “ordinary” individual? What makes the artist an exception to basic rules of morality? Are they somehow above the rest of us?
So, I’m really just wondering aloud where do we draw the line—when do we stop making exceptions for “creative genius” and why do we do it to begin with? I certainly don’t have an answer.
I agree with you about so many things here. My own opinions on the topic are mixed too, and unfortunately, I’m not sure there will ever be an easy answer to the problem of making exceptions for “geniuses.”
I had this discussion with a few friends of mine at a party last night. As a feminist, it’s really hard for me to reconcile my love for Akira Kurosawa films (especially Rashomon, which is among the worst in terms of sexism, and yet simultaneously my favorite by him) or Lars von Trier. I think as a feminist, I still can (and will) enjoy things that are sexist, but of course my love for them is conditional- ie, appreciating the artistry of the film or videogame. But I will never be okay with the sexism, and I will always call these directors out on it. I would never sanction Roman Polanski’s actions (we actually talked about him specifically last night, haha) and I have always been in support of his imprisonment for his crimes. I think the important thing is when we see sexism in art - be it film, music, or literature, we have to acknowledge that it exists and why it’s wrong. For me, the most frustrating thing as a feminist/woman is being told that a feminist critique of art is absurd or irrelevant. It’s not. And it needs to happen.
I guess I feel the same way about fashion. I loved Galliano’s designs, but I was enraged to see people run to his defense; I fully supported the punishment he received. I don’t think his fashion designs were anti-Semitic so I don’t feel guilty appreciating his art; some of his dresses give me chills to look at. As for the man? Couldn’t care less for him.
But the MAC collaboration with Rodarte is particularly nauseating to me - especially because they’re bringing their ignorant - no, downright racist - attitudes to the product. In this case, there is no separation between the awful personal beliefs and the work, and in fact, they’re capitalizing off of it. I never heard about their issues with Black Swan, but then again, that entire movie was a mess of improper crediting (see: Satoshi Kon and Natalie Portman’s body double ballerina), but it’s really disappointing to hear. As for their “Juarez” and “Factory” nailpolishes, that’s just absolutely disgusting. Luckily, it seems like MAC decided not to even ship the collection. But honestly, I can’t believe they had to even be told this was wrong!
On one article that I read, an angry commenter said, “So we censor artistic inspiration now?” And all I can think is, “This is art?” It’s just a capitalist venture created to make money off of someone else’s misfortune. There are plenty of beautiful aspects of Mexican culture that could inform such a makeup collection (I think “Quinceanera” was a nice nod), but I feel like they really crossed the line with this one. The collection wasn’t meant to be inclusive to Hispanic MAC fans; it was meant to parade the Mulleavy sisters’ privileged outsider understanding of South Texan and Mexican culture around. Honestly when I read stuff like this I’m ashamed to be white. Downright embarrassed.
In the end, I would say that it’s important to remain critical of people, ideas, and art. When we begin to value “inspiration” more than the people who begot it, I think there’s a huge problem.
