Sleep Dealer Argumentative Essay

For my creative project, I chose to draw a piece of art inspired by the 2011 song “Sleep Dealer” by Daniel Lopatin (aka Oneohtrix Point Never). Lopatin is considered to be an ambient electronic musician and his album Replica, which features “Sleep Dealer”, fits this description entirely. For this album, Lopatin sampled 1980’s infomercials and made them into abstract sounds. The result is a very odd, immersive, and sometimes unsettling environment. Specifically, the track “Sleep Dealer” begins with a pulsating sample that works as a drum. Further along, the song begins introducing complementary samples and melodies that fill in the space of the song. The length of the song is only about three minutes, but it can sometimes feel longer. In this

Because there aren’t any distinguishable lyrics in the album, there isn’t any way for the artist to give any kind of political or social statement. Lopatin most likely created his art with the intention of creating a specific environment for the listener. This work of art influenced other electronic artists to experiment more with different methods of making music. There are many different ways to create unique environments for the listener. The question of a musician’s responsibility to the public is ridiculous to me. The point of the artist is not to serve the public, but to contribute their art. There is not, or at least there should not be, an obligation of all artists to create something for public consumption. The point of an artist’s work is up to the artists themselves. If an artist wants to comment on social or political situations, they have the right to do that. Other artists may want to create a work for self-fulfillment, which they release to the public to share it with like-minded people. Daniel Lopatin most likely created his art with this intention. The thought of an obligation to give the public what they want probably never crossed his mind when writing the music. He was focused on making something he enjoyed

Most of the time, I have to put effort into imagining a picture to go along with a particular song, but in the case of “Sleep Dealer”, the imagery came naturally. Part of Lopatin’s aesthetic that inspired my work was his sense of detail and layering. He uses samples that are composed of very small details and layers them with bass lines that fill all of the empty space. In my drawing, I drew certain sections with great detail and layered simple yet large sections to balance the piece. Using this method of drawing more accurately reflects my mental image in a more accurate way. The art becomes meaningful when it is portrayed accurately. The arts and creative process are meaningful in my life because they are capable of summing up emotion in ways that other forms cannot. A painting can reflect an emotion that writing is incapable of. Sometimes it’s the other way around. All emotions have a medium that they are best expressed in. The arts can also be a form of communication. Throughout the world, protest takes the form of music because it is an effective way to spread messages to a nation. Although music has its highly emotional intricacies, some art is simply for the enjoyment of the audience. Not everything in this world has to mean something significant. Art can be both complex and