The tortured hunger artist

In “A Hunger Artist” Kafka employs a professional faster in order to explain the mindset of the classic “tortured artist.” Kafka argues that there is a divide between artists and spectators created by artist’s want for what the world can’t give them. The hunger artist is not spiritually satisfied, and thinks that by fasting he can sacrifice physical nourishment for spiritual nourishment, saying he fasts “because I couldn’t find the food I liked. If I had found it, believe me, I should have made no fuss and stuffed myself.” (482) Kafka makes fasting the hunger artist’s art to symbolize how it is in their quest for what the world can’t give them that artist’s create their art.  He also makes the hunger artist’s art literally separate him from the rest of the people, as he cages himself off from them.

            While in the cage, the hunger artist’s view of the spectator’s changes constantly yet never randomly, representing artists complicated emotions toward their own fame and fans. Whether it is conscious or subconscious Kafka never declares, but it seems the real reason the hunger artist fasts is for the approval, and therefore spiritual support of the spectators. The majority of the time he wants the approval of the spectators, and when they are taken from him he feels “the world [is] cheating him of his reward.” (481) Like many artists, the hunger artist acts like he doesn’t care what people think, but his frustration with the misconceptions of his art prove he does.

            Kafka gives the hunger artist the greatest power of feeling when he feels misunderstood by the spectators.  He hates when they speculate he is cheating and does everything he can to make it known he is being honest. While he draws life from his spectators he doesn’t want to let them on to his level, saying, “Just try to explain the art of fasting! Anyone who has no feeling for it cannot be made to understand.” (481) This frustrated and confused relationship the hunger artist has with the spectators is strikingly similar to the real relationships famous artists have with their fans.  The idea of putting his life in peril for the respect of the spectator is something rock stars like Jim Morrison have been doing for years.  His extreme frustration with being misunderstood has been shared by Kurt Cobain and many others.  Its less than an utter coincidence that these three, and famous artists in general die so young.  They have this bipolar view of their own fame that makes them both hate their fans, and willing to die for them simultaneously.