{"id":2254,"date":"2026-06-24T23:17:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T23:17:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/wordpress\/?p=2254"},"modified":"2026-06-24T23:17:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T23:17:17","slug":"depraved","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2026\/06\/24\/depraved\/","title":{"rendered":"Depraved"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What makes art, art? What makes art objectionable? If considered obscene, is it still art? And what of the artists? Are they still artists if the public regards their work as without merit? There is a whole lot to examine when delving into the world of controversial art, and Daisy Dixon takes it head on in her book \u201cDepraved: The Story of Dangerous Art.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dixon is a prize-winning philosopher with a PhD from the University of Cambridge. She specializes in the philosophy of art \u2013 particularly immoral and dangerous art that entrenches structural injustice. To this end, \u201cDepraved\u201d does an excellent job of breaking down what can make art problematic by introducing us to \u201cThe Hydra.\u201d According to Dixon, \u201cArt can be depraved in five ways. First, many artworks explicitly show immoral states of affairs such as gratuitous violence or obscene scenarios. Second, an artwork may somehow cause a person to do something terrible. Third, an artwork may express dangerous messages in how it invites us to think and feel about something. Fourth, sometimes works of art are created by immoral artists. Lastly, the way an artwork has been created may be morally suspect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hydra analogy works magnificently as Dixon addresses each of its heads with intelligence and nuance. \u201cDepraved\u201d, and its Hydra, explore music, literature, video games, art, and even a bit of film. Within its pages you\u2019ll find thoughtful discussion of Marquis de Sade, Brett Bailey\u2019s \u201cExhibit B\u201d, drill music, Pablo Picasso, Leni Riefenstahl\u2019s \u201cTriumph of the Will\u201d, Norwegian black metal band Venom, the video game \u201cCuster\u2019s Revenge\u201d, Paul Gauguin, Cardi B\u2019 \u201cWAP\u201d, Damien Hirst\u2019s \u201cThe Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living\u201d, Adolph Hitler, and much, much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To call \u201cDepraved: The Story of Dangerous Art\u201d by Daisy Dixon thought provoking is an understatement. This book challenged me to look at artists, and their art, in whole new ways. I find myself litigating and relitigating my thoughts and feelings about art. Dixon\u2019s work stays with you in the best way possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDepraved\u201d is scheduled for an August release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can pre-order a copy here. <\/a> (This is an affiliate link to my Bookshop, which supports independent bookstores throughout the United States. If you use this link to purchase the book, I will make a small commission at no additional cost to you.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you enjoy The Magical Buffet? Considering supporting The Magical Buffet on Patreon! For only $5 a month you\u2019ll receive monthly tarot\/oracle forecasts, classes, and behind the scenes updates! https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/magicalbuffet<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Join philosopher Daisy Dixon as she dissects The Hydra of depraved art.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2254"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2254"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2257,"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2254\/revisions\/2257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}