John Zorn: Does the World Need This?

After John Zorn’s intense talk on Monday night, there were a multitude of interesting ‘takeaways’, from the importance of band leading to the controversy of commissions. However, there was one that stuck out to me, which got to the heart of a question that probably plagues many artists - Does the world need this work?

I’m sure many have found themselves in both categories (at least I have), where you know exactly what you want to say from composing your next piece, to writing it and then finding meaning through the ‘sculpting process’. However, what about a work that has no purpose - no meaning - do we even call it art? And if you have nothing to say, then does it not go against contributing to culture? I think in this scenario it is all about perception. A work with no rhyme or reason still can be perceived as having meaning in someone’s eyes, even if the original intent was no intent at all. I think it is extremely important to have something to say, yet everyone interprets things differently, so your original interpretation might be vastly different from an audience’s perspective!

This plays into John Zorn’s other comment of “the piece should belong to everyone”. This gets a little dicey, since art, in a capitalist society (or consumerism in general), is sadly seen more as a product, rather than a contribution to culture. He also talked about “In a perfect world, an artist’s lively hood wouldn’t be confined to a 9-5 job mindset”. This I agree with as well yet that ideal world he talked about isn’t the reality of a free market society, where our work is based off of quantity and less on quality.

Now going back to the question of “does the world need this?” This is an interesting box to unpack, however, if one is truly trying to contribute to their art form (and they truly feel like it can contribute in a positive manner) in a new and creative way, then I think the world does need that! It might be the fiftieth time we have heard it, but for others, it’s their first time hearing it, so working hard to make it the best one can, makes that first listen all the more special. It’s impossible to keep a list of how much is too much but that then comes down to our own responsibility as artists and listeners! Listen to as much as you can! The more one exposes themselves to new and ‘out there’ sounds, the more creative the next piece you composed will be!