Back after a short summer hiatus Richard and Eric take up the surprisingly controversial topic,"l’art pour l’art" (art for art’s sake), brought back into contemporary consciousness by Yo Yo Ma’s recent Harvard Gazette interview.  Made famous by author Théophile Gautier, and argued about in a variety of ways over many (many) years, this concept provides murky swimming waters indeed, particularly in nailing down what the often misrepresented philosophy is truly expressing.  What do the guys think of how this has been (and is currently) perceived?

Anon. “Art for Art’s Sake: Its Fallacy and Viciousness.” The Art World. Vol. 2, No. 2. (May, 1917), pp. 98-102.

J. Laidler. “I Want To Make It Felt.” The Harvard Gazette. (March 15, 2019).