1. The eternal question is, does the artist lose control of his art the minute it leaves his brush, pen, or mold? Does the audience have a right to interpretation? Can the art take on a life of its own? More importantly, should it?
An artist's masterpiece is often said to have a piece of the artist's very soul in it. That being said, once the artist is finished with his creation, it has the capability to leave his control forever. There are examples in literature that can be paralleled to this statement, such as the play of Pygmalion. Higgins’s relationship with his pupil Eliza confirms the statement that an artist can lose control of their creation the moment they are done creating it.
Higgins is the artist of this situation because he completely transforms Eliza with his vocal training and money. Eliza is his artwork because she is made new by Higgins’s help. The problem with this relationship is that Eliza is not an object that can be owned by someone, and Higgins continually treats her as if she is. Eliza’s transformation can technically be considered a masterpiece of Higgins’s hands, yet human beings need to be treated with equal respect and not as if they were somebody’s accomplishment. The worst of it all, Higgins doesn’t take into regard the state that Eliza would be in after her transformation and the bet is over. He will simply cast Eliza off back into the world, “MRS HIGGINS: No, you two infinitely stupid male creatures, the problem of what is to be done with her afterwards. HIGGINS: I don’t see anything in that. She can go her own way, with all of the advantages I gave her (Shaw84).” The problem is Eliza is then too proper to work as girl in a flower shop, and not common enough to sell flowers on the streets as she did before. Higgins the artist is not paying Eliza the respect and guidance that she as his masterpiece deserves.
An artist cannot always control what happens to their art work. In Pygmalion’s case, Higgins cannot control Eliza after he transforms her with new clothes and vocal lessons. Essentially she is not a piece of art that can be owned and managed. Although Higgins doesn’t have any rights to her in an ownership sense, he owes Eliza help and support for completely uprooting her life.
An artist's masterpiece is often said to have a piece of the artist's very soul in it. That being said, once the artist is finished with his creation, it has the capability to leave his control forever. There are examples in literature that can be paralleled to this statement, such as the play of Pygmalion. Higgins’s relationship with his pupil Eliza confirms the statement that an artist can lose control of their creation the moment they are done creating it.
Higgins is the artist of this situation because he completely transforms Eliza with his vocal training and money. Eliza is his artwork because she is made new by Higgins’s help. The problem with this relationship is that Eliza is not an object that can be owned by someone, and Higgins continually treats her as if she is. Eliza’s transformation can technically be considered a masterpiece of Higgins’s hands, yet human beings need to be treated with equal respect and not as if they were somebody’s accomplishment. The worst of it all, Higgins doesn’t take into regard the state that Eliza would be in after her transformation and the bet is over. He will simply cast Eliza off back into the world, “MRS HIGGINS: No, you two infinitely stupid male creatures, the problem of what is to be done with her afterwards. HIGGINS: I don’t see anything in that. She can go her own way, with all of the advantages I gave her (Shaw84).” The problem is Eliza is then too proper to work as girl in a flower shop, and not common enough to sell flowers on the streets as she did before. Higgins the artist is not paying Eliza the respect and guidance that she as his masterpiece deserves.
An artist cannot always control what happens to their art work. In Pygmalion’s case, Higgins cannot control Eliza after he transforms her with new clothes and vocal lessons. Essentially she is not a piece of art that can be owned and managed. Although Higgins doesn’t have any rights to her in an ownership sense, he owes Eliza help and support for completely uprooting her life.