Comment by bigyabai
2 days ago
A lot of James' discography is predicated on making other people suffer. The album art is offputting, the track listings are usually cluttered and useless, his music videos are scary and confusing, random tracks are designed to torture you (eg. Ventolin), and half of his music is released under unrelated aliases.
If you're not familiar with Aphex Twin, it's hard to understand that this hatred does nothing to inhibit his success.
What? Just because an artist makes artworks that some people find challenging does not mean that they hate their audience or want to make them suffer.
Also, what you personally find offputting, other people may enjoy. For example, I don't find 'Ventolin' particularly challenging to listen to.
Hofstadter's GEB is challenging. Francis Bacon's Popes are disturbing. Aphex Twin is irritating. None of these people hate their audience and they're all pushing boundaries.
Andy Kaufman was challenging, disturbing, and irritating in equal measure and he did hate his audience.
Just because art is challenging and unpredictable doesn’t mean it’s interned to make you suffer.
Is Giger’s art created to cause suffering? How about Beksiński’s paintings? The emotions they invoke are not happiness or joy, but neither are they purely dread or loathing.
Aesthetic pursuit isn’t solely (or even primarily) about the emotions it conjures in the consumer.
Remember: the customer is always right in matters of taste.