According to Sartre, humans are nothing other than their engagement: there is no “hidden” person beyond what the person does in the world. Humans, therefore, were allowed to choose their own nature, but at the same time they had to choose their nature, for if they were to linger in nothingness, this nothingness would become their nature. The individual was thereby understood as pure nothing, as absolute freedom of choice, as an existence that is not predetermined by any essence. Sartre’s existentialism defined itself as consistent humanism-that is, as an assertion of the radical autonomy of the human individual. The word “engagement” has become famous especially through the writings of Sartre. And only the artist who is completely free and autonomous can become engaged. It is not particularly difficult to show that the radical autonomy of art can only be manifested through radical political engagement. However, the idea of the autonomy of art is deeply connected to the project of artistic engagement. The advocates of absolute artistic autonomy react to engaged artists in a quite confrontational mode, and vice versa. The discussion about politically engaged art tore the art world apart in the twentieth century, and still does today.
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