Rob Hays makes a case for sincerity and emotion in art in his article “With Feeling.” He writes:

Yet we are often loath to approach the heights of real emotion in art, so we put on a protective cloak of irony, a distancing that allows us to laugh off any real sincerity….

Irony allows us an out in our personal lives.  It also provides an armor when we explore unfamiliar or dangerous territory.  Most of all, it maintains our cool.  Hidden behind sunglasses, covered with a smirk, and swaddled in a snarky t-shirt, we cruise by unaffected and uninfected.

Do you think irony is a proper mode of art, or is irony a crutch artists lean on when they are to afraid to be sincere?

The comments are open, so tell us what you think!