Reconciling Art with Its Creator: Dederer Muses in Monsters

There are people who exist within human society who wear the mask of respectability, but are in actuality monsters. 

Most of these people will never face their reckoning, but those who live their lives and work as public figures will eventually have a light shown on their behavior. In 2017, the social media movement #MeToo sought to expose the monsters from the shadows in every industry, but especially the monsters of the arts. 

With this reckoning a question arose for consumers of art. "Can I be a fan of the brilliant art of someone who has done terrible things?"

In her book, Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma, author Claire Dederer wrestles with this question via a series of essays that build upon ideas about how art created by an artist who has been accused of, or proven to have done, terrible things is difficult to enjoy. How can the art still be brilliant when the full context of its creator's life is examined? Dederer examines this through examples of these monsters' known behavior, how their art has impacted the world, and then puts their works into the context of her own life, creating a thesis-driven work that's also a memoir.

In her first two essays, Dederer tackles the two names that come up most often in discussions of separating the art from the artist. The first essay, "Prologue: The Child Rapist," deals with filmmaker Roman Polanski, a convicted child rapist. The second Essay, "Roll Call," deals with filmmaker Woody Allen, accused child molester. It is an excellent place to start because of how impactful these two filmmakers' works have been. Both continue to be lauded, praised, and defended vehemently in spite of what is known and suspected about them. It is also a stroke of genius for Dederer to admit that her love of their works continues in spite of the biographical details staining the art they have made. In this way, she makes no value judgments on anyone's taste and establishes that she has no final answers for the reader.

Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma by Claire Dederer / Alta

Many recent non-fiction works use memoir to explain why an author might tackle a certain subject. Often this device is specious and more self-serving for the author than the topic. Within Monsters, though, Dederer's biographical details enhance her thesis. She has picked subjects she knows intimately from her own experience and enjoyment of art. She poses her questions not only to her audience, but to herself. Often she eschews the "we" when describing our society's complicated feelings about complicated artists and replaces it with an "I" to put the onus on herself and remind us that how we consume art is a personal choice. It’s a personal topic for Dederer because she is also an artist.

In arguably the best essay of the book, "Am I a Monster?," Dederer tackles her own behavior. She describes her habits and her needs as an artist, and how her family and friends do not always fit inside that life. To be an artist is to be selfish. It is a difficult line to draw, but Dederer finds the crux of the issue. With humor she shows us that the dual identity required to be an artist is all about balance.

In a wonderful nod to one of the Pacific Northwest's favorites, Raymond Carver, Dederer's essay, "Drunks" ruminates on redemption and forgiveness. She wrestles with the idea that an artist can and should reckon with themselves. They can and should find a way to ask for forgiveness by striving to be better people and better artists. Very few take this road, but Dederer's thesis posits that the more we "cancel" people the less leeway we give for the kind of redemption Carver received. Dederer gives no concrete answer to this idea of forgiveness, but puts it into our minds that we could be a society that leaves a door open rather than building up unbreakable walls.

All of Dederer's essays are witty and full of humor. It’s a tricky subject, but she finds a way to make us contemplate these artists as whole people, not just the works they create or the evil they may have perpetrated in the world. Her prose style is familiar and comfortable. Her parenthetical opinions are an especial delight. Her topics are spot on yet surprising.

Monsters is a book that leaves the question of how to consume art by those deemed monsters up to the reader. It is the best way to tackle the subject because there is no right or wrong answer. We must all decide how we rectify the biographical detail of the artist with the art they create. Monsters is a work that entertains, challenges, and will provoke conversations. It is funny, enthralling, and hard to put down. Claire Dederer has an impeccable command of her craft and has made a touchy subject quite approachable. 

Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma was first published in 2023. The most recent addition to its list of accolades is as a finalist in the nonfiction category from the Washington State Book Awards.