I've seen questions about the role of art in historical revolutionary movements, or how art would work in a communist society. I'm more interested in how I, a baby-leftist should make art in the present day.

I was inspired to create by the spiritual "high" I'd get from works I was inspired by, seeking to replicate these emotions in my art. As an anime/manga nerd, the artforms themselves were my raison d'etre. Silly? Sure. Since reckoning with the state of the world and developing a more Marxist/material framework, it's hard to enjoy art for art's own sake.

Internalising how capitalism wrings the beauty out of all art, attempting any intensive art project for art's own sake feels hollow. It's hard to believe in your impact when we're drowning in art that's demonstrably not enriching our lives. It makes it harder to enjoy art, knowing how much of it doesn't grapple with the real world. I love geek culture and miss when it was more grassroots, as your impact was more tangible.

Am I making any fucking sense? Are you an artist that's grapples with this? Any writeups/reading material on this matter? Is there a place for us to make meaningful art that's true to our naive childhood inspirations, or is it all redundant unless it serves a utilitarian purpose for either the proletarian cause or capital?