[Ads-l] "All art is propaganda."

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Dan Goncharoff wrote:
> So do we credit the phrase to Guy Pene du Bois?

The statement in 1918 might be labeled a precursor or an actual
instance of the saying. Entries on QI sometimes trace evolving sayings
without definitive demarcations.

As to who wrote it. That's an excellent hypothesis, Dan. Guy Pene du
Bois was the editor of Arts & Decoration and wrote many signed
articles. His initials G.P.B are appended to the column "Notes of the
Studies and Galleries" for January 1918

But I do not see any name clearly attached to the "Notes of the
Studies and Galleries" column of February 1918 that included the
target quotation.

Garson




> DanG
>
> On Sun, Nov 16, 2014 at 1:02 PM, ADSGarson O'Toole <
> adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
>> Subject:      Re: "All art is propaganda."
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Here is a precursor to Upton Sinclair's statement in 1918 expressed
>> tentatively instead of emphatically.
>>
>> Issue Date: February 1918
>> Periodical: Arts & Decoration
>> Article: Notes of the Studies and Galleries,
>> Star Page 165, Quote Page 165,
>> Publisher: Dexter W. Hewitt at Adam Budge, Inc.
>> Database: Google Books Full View
>>
>> http://books.google.com/books?id=hhbnAAAAMAAJ&q=%22if+all+art%22#v=snippet&
>>
>> [Begin excerpt]
>> Yet we sometimes wonder if all art is not propaganda--political or
>> spiritual and always egotistic.
>> [End excerpt]
>>
>> Garson
>>
>> On Sat, Nov 15, 2014 at 8:03 PM, Jonathan Lighter
>> <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> > Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
>> > Subject:      Re: "All art is propaganda."
>> >
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> >
>> > That occurred to me too, but I don't see a ref. in GB or Hathi.
>> >
>> > Prob. Marx said something more prolix.
>> >
>> > JL
>> >
>> > On Sat, Nov 15, 2014 at 6:13 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
>> >
>> >> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> >> -----------------------
>> >> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> >> Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
>> >> Subject:      Re: "All art is propaganda."
>> >>
>> >>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> >>
>> >> At 11/15/2014 04:57 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>> >>
>> >> >Not in YBQ, but it gets 30,000 raw Googlits.  I recently read it in a
>> >> movie
>> >> >review.
>> >> >
>> >> >1925 Upton Sinclair _Mammonart_ (Pasadena: pub. by the author) 9: All
>> art
>> >> >is propaganda. It is universally and inescapably propaganda; sometimes
>> >> >unconsciously, but often deliberately, propaganda.
>> >> >
>> >> >Rather a dilute meaning of "propaganda," wouldn't you say? The relevant
>> >> OED
>> >> >def. is
>> >> >
>> >> >"The systematic dissemination of information, esp. in a biased or
>> >> >misleading way, in order to promote a political cause or point of view.
>> >> >Also: information disseminated in this way; the means or media by which
>> >> >such ideas are disseminated."
>> >> >
>> >> >Sinclair seems to mean rather that all art exerts some influence on
>> >> >beliefs, willy-nilly.  As dothose who repeat the assertion (usu.
>> without
>> >> >attribution).
>> >>
>> >> Sinclair was a utopian, left-wing, progressive Democrat, Socialist,
>> >> Wobbly-supporting pinko, wasn't he?  "All art is propaganda" is
>> >> something I could imagine said by Karl Marx.
>> >>
>> >> Joel
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> >Factoid:  Wackipedia calls the book-length essay _Mammonart_ a "novel."
>> >> >
>> >> >JL
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >--
>> >> >"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
>> >> truth."
>> >> >
>> >> >------------------------------------------------------------
>> >> >The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>> >>
>> >> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> >> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>> >>
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > --
>> > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
>> truth."
>> >
>> > ------------------------------------------------------------
>> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org