Does the personal truth of an artist matter when consuming their art?
When buying an artistic work (in any form), people send profits to a specific person.
That person may have different world views than you.
So, does one overlook personal belief or just accept the art itself?
Redditor ChuckItInTheRubbish wanted to discuss their experience and get some feedback, so naturally, they came to the “Am I The A**hole” (AITA) subreddit.
They asked:
“AITA for not disclosing that I am not Christian?”
The Original Poster (OP) explained:
“To preface this, I do commission artwork, and don’t discriminate against any subject unless it’s racist, homophobic, otherwise hateful, or sexually disturbing.”
“I did a commissioned art piece with Christian iconography, a beautiful ornate cross, a saint, and scripture in calligraphy.”
“The client was happy with my work, paid me, and then… asked me what my favorite scripture was.”
“I was honest and just said, ‘Oh I don’t really have one, because I’m not a Christian and wouldn’t really know which ones I’d like.’”
“He became upset and told me that he felt lied to because I have posted artwork of Christian subjects before, and he assumed I would be Christian.”
“He said the art doesn’t hold the same spiritual value because it wasn’t made with ‘faithful intention.'”
“I was kind of unsure of what to say.”
“I said ‘I’m sorry you feel that way, but I do artwork for everyone, and I am open to doing Christian artwork because it’s for the client, not me.’”
The OP was left to wonder:
“Should I be disclosing if I don’t share a certain faith when commissioned to do artwork for it? AITA?”
Redditors shared their thoughts on this matter and weighed some options to the question AITA:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
Many Redditors declared that OP was NOT the A**hole.
“NTA, you don’t discriminate, but apparently, they do lmao.” ~ BluePandaYellowPanda
“It’s true though.”
“If he wanted an artist creating it with ‘faithful intentions, ‘ he should’ve said so during negotiations.”
“I’m baptized and used to be quite active in the church.”
“However I am an atheist and might look Christian to others, but I’m not.”
“If I had made something like this, it wouldn’t have been with faithful intentions either.”
“That’s a very specific intention you can’t just assume someone will fulfill without speaking up.” ~Pandora2304
“The client can have their priest, pastor, or whoever pray over and bless the item.”
“That should give it whatever magic and spirituality they feel it needs.”
“NTA, OP.” ~ PS_is_BS
“I’m also really annoyed at the customer because the whole ‘faithful intentions’ thing is the most lazy justification ever.”
“The crucifix was not made with faithful intentions and became a world-recognized symbol for the Christian faith.”
“Shut the f**k up and pay for what you ordered, nerd.” ~ TheRealTexasGovernor
“NTA. Michael Angelo didn’t believe in the church and painted the Sistine Chapel.”
“If it didn’t matter to the Pope, who is this guy to judge?”
“Also, his failure to vet you is not your concern.” ~ wayward_painter
“So, he ‘assumed’ you were Christian, and since he was wrong, ‘he felt lied to?'”
“That strikes me as odd.”
“Also, is art ‘made with faithful intention’ magic or something? NTA.”
“Ethically or otherwise, no, you definitely don’t have to disclose anything about your religious views for an art commission.”
“I mean, if asked directly, I probably wouldn’t lie about it, but that’s only so you don’t go to hell.” ~ Tiny-Team4872
“This guy is delusional if he thinks less of the artwork.”
“It’s still custom-made with his desires in mind.”
“What, does he think the church buys communion wafer crackers from the Vatican?”
“Come on now.” ~ secretlywicker
“NTA. Being commissioned to make Christian artwork is a long, long historical tradition.”
“You were completely respectful.” ~ valectronica
“Did Jesus only interact with those of his faith? No.”
“Did he only help those of his faith? No.”
“Did he only support those of his faith? No.”
“Did he discriminate against those who were not of his faith? No.”
“Seems to me like he needs to read his own book more. NTA.” ~ ____unloved____
“NTA… he assumed.”
“That’s a ‘him’ problem, not a ‘you’ problem.” ~ IamIrene
“NTA. If a person only wants someone who follows a certain faith to do work, then it is up to them to be discriminatory – if they don’t ask, there is absolutely no reason to tell them.” ~ another_online_idiot
“Clear NTA.”
“You’re an artist, not a priest.”
“If that wanted artwork of ‘spiritual value,’ they could have done it with their own crayons and fingerpaints.” ~ Fearless_Spring5611
“NTA. The client is trying to get a discount.”
“They didn’t ask upfront because they were planning this from the beginning.”
“If you had given a passage, they would have turned it into a way to give a fellow Christian a break.”
“Instead they are pretending to be lied to.” ~ SpockShotFirst
“NTA… anyone who is genuinely worried that you don’t share the same faith should ask you about that before commissioning your work.”
“It’s not your job to go around announcing your religion or lack thereof to everyone and anyone you meet.” ~ Ok_Student_7908
“He’s obviously not familiar with the concept of a commission.”
“Client wants a picture of x thing, the artist creates an image of x thing for money, not because they share the client’s enthusiasm for x thing.”
“That’s how artists have made a living for literally thousands of years.”
“Many of the most revered Christian works of art were created by non-Christian or non-religious people for money. NTA.” ~ Libba_Loo
“NTA for all the reasons cited by everyone else, but I’d also like to point out that a huge percentage of Christian art/goods are made by non-Christians, and unless he’s also going to be chucking out any mass-produced crosses, nativity scenes, Bible quote of the day calendars, slightly unsettling temu Jesus figurines, etc. he owns, this is a weird stance for him to take with you.”
“There’s no reason for you as an independent artist to conform to the faith when it’s pretty well established that so much of the rest of the market does not.” ~ PrizewinningPetunias
“NTA. There was an episode of ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ where Larry hired a lawyer with a Jewish-sounding last name then got very upset when he realized he wasn’t Jewish.”
“the assumption was that because of his last name, the lawyer was a jew.”
“Same situation here, dude assumed you were Christian cause of the artworks you had done in the past.”
“His assumption, not your fault.”
“Also, I thought the whole ‘lord works in mysterious ways’ was supposed to be a thing.”
“Wouldn’t God have pointed him towards you with the intent that you do the work?”
“Too spiritual for me, but seems an odd thing to be upset about.” ~ CharacterAerie1915
“NTA. Your client was… strange about this whole thing.”
“I used to do digital art – space-themed usually but sometimes fantasy-themed.”
“I am neither an alien nor a satyr.”
“It makes no sense that anyone would expect an artist to somehow physically or mentally represent their art (as far as I’m aware Dali wasn’t melting over his friends on the regular).” ~ Jay-Dee-British
“NTA… sounds like whoever commissioned you didn’t take the time to vet what they wanted.”
“That’s not your problem.”
“This is why we don’t assume.” ~ Inventingmee
“NTA. They made an assumption, that’s on them.”
“You’re an artist, of course you’re free to create whatever clients ask you to, and you don’t have to align with their beliefs to do that or profess or disclose that you do or that you don’t.”
“They can ask if they really need to know (and even then, of course, you’d be perfectly within your rights to tell them that’s none of their business, but you sound like you’d have been upfront about it if they had bothered to ask).” ~ ksarlathotep
“NTA. He assumed a lot.”
“I remember someone telling me that when you go to the Holy Land, you can rent a cross to carry through the streets where Jesus did his last walk.”
“At the end, you hand it to a Muslim kid who hauls it back to the starting point.”
“Religion overlaps especially when business is involved.” ~ verminiusrex
“Absolutely NTA.”
“You don’t have to advertise any part of yourself to anyone, that’s none of their business.”
“If it was so important to him he could have asked beforehand, and then it would have been up to you if you wanted to disclose or not (again, you don’t owe anyone any part of your life just because they asked), and then he could have decided if he wanted to continue.”
“But he didn’t.”
“He instead decided to assume, and just be a whole weirdo.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong, and don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.” ~ foxy_chicken
“I am Christian and I have commissioned art in the past, and I never assumed the artist would be one faith or the other unless they were upfront about it.”
“They should be mad at themselves, you never told them you were of the same faith.”
“There are good and bad people out there, Christians or not 🤷🏻♀️.”
“NTA, you aren’t obligated to make your beliefs public.” ~ Virtual-Tale-2047
“NTA and it’s idiotic to think an artist does it any less to earn money just because they have your desired faith.”
“Highly doubt every person drawing religious objects/subjects is following that religion.” ~ Alpacachoppa
“NTA, if it’s that important to them, they’d have done their own research – and/or asked.” ~ Merdeadians
“100% NTA.”
“He made an assumption.”
“That’s on him for not asking if it means that much to him.” ~ Due-Organization-957
“Typical Christians… love everyone unless they are a bit different or have different beliefs than themselves.” ~ MightyMatt9482
“You are selling your expertise in artwork, not religious guidance. NTA.” ~ Waste_Worker6122
“I’m a Christian, and you are NTA.”
“I don’t get his beef.”
“He loved your artwork, and wanted something specific for himself.”
“Nah, that’s just dumb.” ~ Other-Analysis-417
“Never disclose your faith, or, lack of.”
“Art is art.” ~ StopMost9127
Reddit is on your side, OP.
You were hired for a job.
You did it well.
The end.
Your personal life and beliefs are no one else’s business, especially a stranger’s.