On propogating art
I had a number of topics I was planning to write about this summer. This was not one of them, but this seems to have become a topic I need to directly address.
It gives me great joy that a small slice of the work by my grandfather and music guru, Sri. Tumuluri Satyagopal, is making its rounds online lately. While it has been nearly three years since his passing, his work, his work ethic, and his philosophy continue to guide me and inspire me. In his lyrics, I - and others - have found delight, wisdom, and technical challenges (Mahathi jathiswaram, looking at you).
So, of course, it brings me joy to see wider audiences discovering his rich corpus of work.
That being said, some uncomfortable messages that I have recently received compel me to state this publicly: There are right and wrong ways to propagate art.
Give credit to the many people who are a part of the process to bring any art to the public sphere. As a dancer, I credit not only the choreographer and composer, but also orchestra - if I know - and my teachers.
Do not post other peoples’ work without their permission. I absolutely reshare work that my artist friends share if I think it is inspiring, but I am resharing their original posts and tagging them. I am not pretending that this is my own work or that it came out of a vacuum. The first is appreciation. The second is appropriation. The difference between them is miles wide.
Two wrongs do not make a right. Just because someone else is behaving in a manner one perceives as unethical does not mean one can steal their work without permission and share it.
You will note that I am not talking about social media terms, financial gain, or copyright law in any of this. That is not to say those are not important as well. Just because something is “allowed” or “legal” doesn’t necessarily make it right. And just because something has become a financial source doesn’t make it wrong. It just means that there are ways of working both legally AND ethically AND respecting and propagating the work of artists whom we admire.