Art vs. Artist: I don't think you can separate the two

Before I hear the angry comments: No one is perfect. Everyone has done some pretty horrible stuff, because humans are messy.

But there's a very big difference between simple mistake, and unforgiveable.

Separating art from the artist has been a pretty common mantra for a while now. In an attempt to try and enjoy great works by authors who....weren't the greatest people. Especially for works created in years past, where a lot of bigotry can be found, and it can be difficult to sift through the merit of such works from the bigotry.

But I'll argue: there's really no way to separate the two.

The artist is still associated with the works they create, because these are personal expressions of the artist's ideals. You can tell a lot about an artist by the work they produce, and that isn't an accident. A part of the artist is always going to be present in the art, their actions aren't often not included in those works, sometimes the art shows the believes the artist had that led them to these behaviors.

And even if they weren't often connected, buying these works means that some money goes directly into the artist's pocket. Because of this, he artist is always going to be tied to the works they create, making separation virtually impossible.

And supporting them like this continues their level of influence. They get money from these purchases, and their name stays within the public conscious, even just a little.

And if an artist apologizes for their past horrible behavior, that means that they are (probably) actively taking steps to approve their behavior. That is a good sign, and if an artist is making the effort, then I think that there isn't a problem with consuming their work. It's only a problem if they refuse to apologize of fix their behavior.

Which seems to happen most of the time, because a lot of ideas are pretty set in stone by the time adulthood kicks in. When that happens, no matter how you separate the two, you are still putting money into their pockets and are upholding their cultural relevancy.