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Pwr Bttm vs. Tolstoy (A Ramble)

As I am listening to Pwr Bttm and doing an outline on Tolstoy's, "What is Art?" I wonder and question what Tolstoy would think about this queer punk band who tells the gender binary "fuck you!" through the use of verbal art (as Tolstoy would put it) and copious amounts of glitter.

If you have never listened to Pwr Bttm (pronounced Power Bottom), you can find their NPR Tiny Desk Performance here.

Tolstoy argues how to recognize what makes “good” art and how to judge it according to the time period and the religious stance of the time. Furthermore, emphasizing the instrumental nature of art by deeming it “purposeful” and “functional.” He claims all art which does not coincide with the time period and current religious stance should be considered bad and rejected.

Tolstoy also argues that art should not be judged by the pleasure and feeling it evokes in people, rather, art should have a universal feeling for all who experience it, moreover, “the purpose of art is to promote universal understanding among humanity”

Would he see this band as a kind of religious perception of our time that transmits feelings of positivity, love and unity?

Or would he see it as a gap between religious art and Christianity and a negative form of love?

Moreover, does any of this even matter in the cosmic abyss of what the universe may very well possibly be? I ask myself these questions on a chilly fall morning.

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