Where Have All the Art Men Gone

"Art is not a handicraft, it is the transmission of feeling the artist has experienced."
– Leo Tolstoy

The recent Twitter thread I posted criticizing conservatives for their lack of support for the arts sparked a flood of responses, most of which missed the point entirely. This, of course, is no surprise to anyone familiar with Twitter’s dynamics. The first tweet in a thread always garners significantly more views than the last, and most users respond to the initial post without engaging with the broader argument. As a result, the nuanced point I was trying to make was lost in a sea of superficial reactions

The majority of responses I received were calls for more explicitly conservative or right-wing art. This, however, was not my argument. Art created with an overt political agenda is almost always bad art. The recent string of Disney films is evidence enough of this phenomenon. When artists prioritize political messaging over authenticity, the work loses its soul. The audience is no longer immersed in the experience; instead, they see it as either a condemnation or an endorsement of their beliefs. This serves only to alienate the audience and diminish the ability of the art to resonate on a deeper level.

What we need is not more right-wing or conservative art, but rather men with traditional or conservative ideals creating art. For generations, conservatives have discouraged their children from pursuing the arts in favor of more “practical” goals. This mindset stems from the conservative obsession with meritocracy and efficiency, which is itself rooted in a hyper-materialistic understanding of value. Figures like Dave Ramsey embody this line of thinking. Ask yourself what value Ramsey would place on the works of Herman Melville or William Faulkner, and you’ll understand exactly how American conservatives view art.

This obsession with efficiency and material value has no place in the domain of art. Art's value cannot be quantified, reduced to spreadsheets, or measured by algorithmic metrics. It exists to explore the intangible, capture the complexities of the human condition, and provoke reflection and emotion. Yet, because conservatives have misunderstood this, they have systematically steered their children away from artistic pursuits. Given that political leanings are largely genetic, this has resulted in generations of right-leaning youth abandoning the arts.

The consequence of this cultural shift is that the arts have become the domain of the left. While conservative parents pushed their children toward practical skills like finance, engineering, or law, the arts gradually became saturated with individuals who naturally lean left. This created a negative feedback loop: as the arts became increasingly associated with left-wing, gay, or feminine sensibilities, conservative-leaning young men turned away in even greater numbers. The arts, in turn, became even more dominated by those with left-wing biases, further alienating conservatives. The more the arts were seen as gay the more gay the arts became.

Great art communicates universal truths about the human condition, and these truths are filtered through the political and social leanings of the artist. In the past, we had artists who were unapologetically masculine and right-wing—men like John Ford, whose films The Searchers and The Quiet Man are considered right-wing not because of any overt political messaging, but because of who John Ford was as a man. Ford’s work reflects his worldview, his values, and his understanding of the human condition. Yet, men like Ford are no longer encouraged to create art. Instead, they are pushed into finance, the military, or other “practical” fields. If they do eventually turn to art, it is often late in life, after they have forfeited the years of practice and refinement necessary to hone their craft.

Historically, figures like T.S. Eliot and Flannery O’Connor produced works that were deeply rooted in their conservative values. Eliot’s The Waste Land and O’Connor’s Wise Blood are celebrated not for their political messaging but for exploring universal truths through a traditional or religious lens. Their work is a testament to the fact that traditionalism/conservatism when authentically expressed, can produce some of the most enduring and profound art.

The left’s monopoly on the arts has not only alienated conservatives but has also led to cultural stagnation. In their pursuit of ideological conformity contemporary artists have abandoned the exploration of universal truths in favor of shallow political pandering. The result is an artistic landscape where originality is sacrificed at the altar of progressive dogma, leaving audiences with nothing but predictable, uninspired garbage.

Art schools and universities, which serve as the gatekeepers of the cultural world, have played a significant role in sidelining conservative voices. These institutions prioritize ideological unity over artistic merit, creating an environment where conservative students feel unwelcome and ostracized. Funding organizations, too, tend to favor projects that align with progressive values, further entrenching the left’s dominance in the arts.

At its core, art is about beauty—about creating something that transcends the mundane and touches the soul. The right, with its reverence for tradition, order, and aesthetic beauty, is uniquely positioned to produce art that resonates on a profound level. These ideas are timeless, they are not fleeting political agendas but are the foundation for creating works that endure and inspire.

If we ever want this to change, the right must take deliberate action. This includes supporting conservative artists through patronage and promotion, creating alternative institutions that prioritize artistic excellence over ideology, and encouraging young conservatives to pursue careers in the arts. We are uniquely positioned to begin building a cultural ecosystem that values authenticity and beauty, we can restore balance to the artistic world.

Some will argue that art has always been political, but this is a mischaracterization. While great art often reflects the artist’s worldview, it does so subtly and organically, allowing the audience to draw their own conclusions. Propaganda, on the other hand, is didactic and heavy-handed, leaving no room for interpretation. Conservatives are not inherently less creative; they have simply been discouraged from participating in the arts to the detriment of both the cultural landscape and their own values.

The left is not to blame for the absence of conservative voices in the arts it is a result of their prioritization of the material over all else. Nature abhors a vacuum and the left took full advantage of the empty space and drove the right further from the arts. All the while conservatives mocked the arts behind white-collar salaries. In the end, this only helped to speedrun the left’s ideological dominance and the deterioration of American cultural cohesion.

We must encourage our children to pursue film, writing, and music, if not as a career at least as a serious passion project, and we must support right-leaning artists.

We can reclaim the arts.

The future of our culture depends on it.

"Art is the proper task of life."
– Friedrich Nietzsche

-TJS