Artistic Integrity: Making Choices That Serve the Work
When I was in high school, I attended a local community play. I don’t remember much about the story, but I do remember two things:
1. The cast was made up entirely of underage high school students.
2. There was a scene where two female actors sat on a park bench, having a conversation while smoking stage cigarettes.
At the time, the choice to have them smoke felt strange—out of place. The actors were clearly inexperienced with smoking, and it added nothing to the dialogue or the overall performance. It wasn’t a pivotal moment in the story, nor did it serve any artistic purpose. So why include it? Why did the director make that choice?
Later, it came to light that the director had a disturbing attraction to underage girls and a fetish for women smoking. In hindsight, his choice made perfect, unsettling sense—it wasn’t about the art. It was about his own desires, disguised as a creative decision.
That experience has stayed with me. As a photographer and artist, I often reflect on that moment in the audience—the feeling that something was off, even before I understood why. It serves as a constant reminder to question my own creative choices. Am I making this decision because it enhances the art? Or is it serving something personal, something unrelated to the work itself? If I find that it’s the latter, more often than not, I remove it—because I remember.
I sometimes see artwork on social media that makes me wonder about the motivations behind its creation. But to be clear, I don’t believe it’s inherently wrong for artists to make personal choices in their work. Art is often deeply personal. Some of the most profound pieces in history were born from an artist’s private emotions, desires, and experiences.
Art is also subjective—what speaks to one person may not resonate with another. But I do believe that as artists, we should always take a moment to examine our intentions. Are we making choices that truly serve the piece, or are they fulfilling something else? Learning to distinguish between personal impulses and artistic integrity is an ongoing process, but it’s one worth pursuing.
Because in the end, great art isn’t just about what we want to create—it’s about what we choose to share with the world
