Yes, I believe that forgery is still art. Art is about how something is perceived and makes one feel, and yes the artist is still essential but all those outside factors such as the cost where it’s from, and who made it shouldn’t be the key components when deciding whether to buy and value an art piece. Art is the creation of something beautiful in unique ways, it conveys different emotions and feelings that change through each person’s perspective. I don’t see anything wrong with being inspired by other art to create new art, but the imitation of others is unethical. When it comes to art the ideas, execution, and authenticity are all essential and add to the creation. Making the price of art more expensive because of its maker instead of the quality of the art itself seems to be problematic, it makes it hard for more beautiful complex art by new artists to be fully appreciated. External factors certainly can out way the art itself. I believe it can still be considered authentic art if the artist is simply trying to find a new art form inspired by another. But I also think what’s so important about art is the process that goes into creating it, the time and thought are part of what makes it beautiful and worth so much money so if one is simply copying another with no original thought it seems that it would take away from the value. When one looks at an art piece one should try and look at it without knowing anything like the price artist or age and focus on the emotions it brings up and that should be more important than any of the outside components. I don’t believe that forgery is a good thing, it’s taking credit for others’ ideas and claiming they have created something that they have not. I also find that authenticity and originality are essential when creating art, but beautiful art inspired by some of the greatest artists in history should still be valued. Forgery is an art form in itself, as it does take quite a lot of skill to do and get away with so it shouldn’t be unappreciated. I think that Beltracchi now putting his name on his art is a great thing as he is an extremely talented artist, and it shouldn’t take away from the arts beauty or value.

“Ignorance is bliss” is a phrase often used when people are too scared to know the truth. Although it would be lovely to live in a world where the only information one learns leads to a peaceful and blissful existence, that world would be a lie. Living a lie is not beneficial to anyone, as one can only grow if one accepts knowledge and seeks more of it. Throughout the texts of Gilgamesh, Genesis, Oedipus, and Lone Star, the importance of knowledge and the evil that is ignorance are exemplified by the characters’ challenges, and the outcomes prove the value of knowledge over ignorance. 

Genesis shows the root of good and evil for mankind. Adam and Eve had been living in a world where God allowed them to reside peacefully, but their peace came from ignorance. Tempted by the serpent, Adam and Eve end up gaining knowledge and losing innocence by eating the forbidden fruit. The Serpent told Eve, “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil”(Genesis 1-3), and the Serpent spoke the truth. They now had the capability to understand the world around them more deeply, but in doing so, they had disobeyed God.  Adam and Eve were banned from the garden of Eden, and in exchange, they were opened up to a world full of knowledge. Their awareness of good and evil allowed them to have the ability to make moral choices, giving them access to free will. Free will will always stop ignorance as it means one’s choices can fully be their own because they know the difference between good and evil. 

In the story of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh sought out eternal life, and he searched for the knowledge that would allow him to achieve that goal. But while Gilgamesh searched for one thing, he became aware of another. He found that immortality was impossible and that legacy was what would allow him to live on. Because Gilgamesh accepted the knowledge that he found, he learned he could live forever through the positive impacts he could make in his lifetime. “Everlasting life was not [Gilgamesh’s] destiny” (118), but the life he did lead was full of greatness, and because of the knowledge he found, he was able to instead complete a destiny of having a lasting legacy. 

In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus fears that his prophecy will unfold. He does all he can to avoid fulfilling it, but in doing so, he completes it. In his case, completing it was killing his father and marrying his mother. It would appear that if Oedipus had never been aware that it was his mother he was marrying and his father he was killing, he could have continued to live a lie and think that he beat the prophecy he was running from. Oedipus’s truth may have been painful, but it was necessary. Oedipus, when confronted with the knowledge that he is his own damnation, refuses to believe it and lashes out at Teiresias for telling him so. However, Teireses knows that “there is power in truth” (20), which is something that Oedipus is not yet aware of. As Oedipus’s true identity comes to light, he experiences intense pain but also gains self-awareness and lives an authentic existence where he can truly grow. 

Lone Star had a lot of truths that needed to be uncovered. As the death of the past sheriff is being uncovered, other truths are revealed alongside it. The truth of Charlie Wade, the truth of Sam’s father, and the truth that not everyone’s parents were originally who they were assumed to be. All of this knowledge had been hidden, and everyone went on believing that people aren’t who they said they were. While the reality about who people are and the choices they make are being revealed, Otis says, “It’s not like there’s a line between the good people and the bad people. It is not like you’re one or the other.” which is an important thing to remember as realities come to the surface and people are faced with the hard truth about the ones around them. Despite uncovering the bad deeds of others, it also brought reconciliation between characters like Otis and Delmore, and although Sam was faced with a lot of hard truths about his family, which impacted his identity, it was necessary for him to truly understand who he is.

It seems as though knowledge can be a negative thing; it led to the loss of Adam and Eve’s innocence, showed Oedipus that his prophecy became fulfilled, and revealed that Sam and Pilar were related. Yet, despite all these difficulties, these characters needed knowledge in order to grow and truly live a fulfilling existence. Living in ignorance can sometimes be the easy way out, but it also means that all the choices one makes are not completely educated and are blind decisions.