Zócalo Public Square

Eadweard Muybridge, who made the first motion pictures, was a murderer. Ezra Pound and T.S. Elliot were both rabid anti-Semites. And Picasso was a brutal misogynist who drove both his wife and his mistress to suicide. Great artists have never been angels. But as we learn more about the crimes and misdemeanors of today’s artists, to what extent can we still separate appreciation of great art from celebrating its compromised creators? Does an artist's bad behavior diminish the quality of their artwork? What does it mean for arts institutions to reject art on moral grounds? Cultural historian and film critic Neal Gabler, USC popular culture scholar Todd Boyd, Notre Dame art historian Ingrid Rowland and moderator Amanda Fortini, a contributing writer to The New Yorker, took part in a May 16 Zócalo/Getty panel discussion titled “Can We Appreciate the Great Art of Bad People?” at The Getty Center to examine how, and whether, we can value the art of rogues and criminals.