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Culture War Roundup for the week of September 23, 2024

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If your artistic output is taken as inspiration for torture chambers designed to inflict psychological damage on prisoners of war, then something has gone seriously wrong.

Your modus ponens is my modus tollens. His work may have been used as inspiration for a torture chamber; but Klee was obviously a fantastic artist regardless. So we can conclude that that is no great indictment of him.

Given the content at the links this reads like thick irony.

Respectfully, there's nothing "obviously fantastic" to me about any of those. "De gustibus nil disputandum" and all, but frankly my (probably typical-minded) prior is that the number of people who would describe those works "obviously fantastic" are a small minority.

Once again you have proudly and eagerly presented some of the ugliest, least evocative art I’ve ever seen, and expected us to share your judgment of its quality. The first piece is inoffensive, if unremarkable, but the other two are laughable.

and expected us to share your judgment of its quality.

No, certainly not. I'm aware that my tastes are unusual. If the works I've shared here aroused curiosity in even just a couple of people then I would be quite happy.

Klee is wonderful. He provokes wonder.

Klee is marvellous. He causes marvels.

Klee is fantastic. He creates fantasies.

Klee is glamorous. He projects glamour.

Klee is enchanting. He weaves enchantment.

Klee is terrific. He begets terror.

The thing about words is that meanings can twist just like a snake, and if you want to find snakes look for them behind words that have changed their meaning.

No one ever said Klee is nice.

Klee is bad.

Of course you did expect us to share! That's why you said "obviously fantastic" and "we can conclude".