The Unexpected Charm of Is This Thing On?

What is an “art monster”? Jenny Offill popularized the term in her 2014 debut novel, Dept. of Speculation, in which a youthful writer dreams of eschewing domesticity and becoming an “art monster” entirely motivated by her craft. But it is not just dishwashing, parenting, or, as Offill mentions, the licking of stamps that the typically male art monster delegates. Everything, including basic human decency, might be thrown aside in favor of the Work. This is where Claire Dederer picked up in her 2023 book, Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma. If we concede that the art cannot be separated from the artist—that sometimes callousness is part of the craft, that it leaves traces in the final product—the question remaining is how much monstrousness we can tolerate. As Dederer writes, “A monster, in my mind, was an artist who could not be separated from some dark aspect of his or her biography.” These biographies, in turn, make for horrific journalistic exposés and solid Hollywood entertainment.