By separating or not separating the artist from the work, here is the political issue that brought the Sergio Reis case to the agenda | Mauro Ferreira’s blog
♪ ANALYZE – Reflecting the polarization that puts artists and followers in sometimes opposing camps, the pop universe is increasingly debating an issue that has been raised by the controversial expressions of music stars regarding politics and the COVID-19 pandemic. To separate or not to separate the artist from the work is a political issue that drives the heated judgment of social media.
Eric Clapton’s fans around the world have expressed disappointment over the British guitarist’s negative comments about the pandemic and the vaccine.
In Brazil, a country where artists and audiences hold right or left positions in the political arena, this issue was raised on the agenda on Monday 16 August with singer Guarabira’s decision to withdraw from Sergio Reis’ next album – in which I would participate with the re-recording of the song little house (Luis Carlos Sa & Gutemberg Guarabira, 1977) – due to a leaked audio recording of Reis defending a truck stop to pressure the Senate to remove ministers from the Supreme Court.
Guarabira declared incompatibility with the political position of Sergio Reis. The next day, August 17, Guilherme Arantes appeared and stated that although he disagreed with Reis’s speeches, he would never demand the removal of the song recording. Water planet (Guilherme Arantes, 1981) of the singer’s album, so as not to mix “artistic landscape” with “non-musical landscape”.
On the same Tuesday, August 17, a social media tribute to Elba Ramalho’s 70th birthday came under attack on the singer, who many netizens associate with a team of artists supporting Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is being rejected. by almost all of the world’s artistic class and by the majority of Brazilians.
The issue is controversial. It is a fact that any attack on democracy must be fought hard, under pain of the law, by anyone.
“Democracy is hard-won. Music is a democratic art. Therefore, I will never use my prestige to try to usurp our democratic system, ”said Renato Teixeira, the singer who recorded albums with Sergio Reis on Wednesday, August 18th. Sincere friendship (2010) e sincere friendship II (2015).
2 of 2 Guilherme Arantes says he will continue to work on Sergio Reis’s album with the recording of “Planeta Água” – Photo: Marcia Gonzalez / Divulgação
Guilherme Arantes says he will continue to work on Sergio Reis’ album with the recording of “Planeta Água” – Photo: Marcia Gonzalez / Divulgação
The question to be discussed is whether the work of an artist should be judged on the basis of that artist’s position in society. It is in this debate that the views of people on the same political side often diverge in favor of democracy.
In the case of music critics evaluating recordings and shows (work done by the observer in this space on the portal G1), the only acceptable way is honesty. When reviewing an album or show, it should only be about the work itself, assessed from the aesthetic point of view of each critic, without the influence of any other external factors.
This honest attitude prevents injustices inherited by descendants, such as the one with the grandiose album released by Roberto Carlos in 1969, a record of greatness that the media minimized at the time, especially since the singer was considered “alienated” in political circles. fields of 1969 than the repertoire formed by the songs of the carat The bends of the Santos road e your stupidity, masterpieces of the partnership between Roberto and Erasmo Carlos.
In the case of artists, Guarabira’s position is legitimate. Also because many artists express themselves through their work and for this very reason have every right to reject any association with a colleague on the opposite side of the political field.
But it is also prudent, in the name of democracy itself, to avoid prior conviction in court of social media artists like Guilherme Arantes, who prefer to separate the work of colleagues from such “non-musical” issues.
Sergio Reis made a big mistake and must answer for the attack on democracy – by the way, 29 deputy attorneys general yesterday asked the prosecutor general of the Federal District to open an investigation into this case.
The question to be discussed is whether the punishment applied to a citizen in Justice and / or on social media should be extended to the artistic works created by that citizen throughout his life. As Renato Teixeira emphasized, music is a democratic art.
