"Once again, I think there is little art being done that really owns up to such intense possibilities"

Peter Sotos’s assertion about the scarcity of art that “owns up” to “intense possibilities” points toward a powerful critique of contemporary creative practices and cultural boundaries. Sotos signals dissatisfaction with the prevailing artistic landscape, suggesting that most creators shy away from delving into the most extreme, provocative, or disturbing aspects of human experience. The phrase “intense possibilities” evokes ideas of profound emotional, psychological, or moral territory, subjects that may unsettle audiences or challenge social norms. Sotos’s emphasis on ownership implies not merely the depiction of challenging material, but the willingness of the artist to fully confront, embrace, and engage with the implications and ramifications of such subject matter, without disavowal or self-protective irony.

There’s an accusation here: that much art today may flirt with unconventionality or shocking content, but ultimately retreats from authentic engagement, stopping short of true confrontation with the darker or more complex possibilities at its disposal. This could reflect a larger societal impulse toward comfort, repetition, and the recycling of acceptable transgressions, rather than a sincere investigation of the human condition’s most difficult or taboo elements. The “little art” Sotos references is the rare example standing in contrast to the greater mass, where artistic risk has been replaced by the safe pursuit of thematic or aesthetic trends.

Sotos’s statement can be interpreted as a call for greater honesty in creative work, for artists to undertake a more vulnerable journey into extremes, whether those are psychological, aesthetic, or ethical. It asks both artists and audiences to question what is sanitized, what is permitted, and what remains unspoken or unexplored. Such a stance does not necessarily glorify the disturbing, but rather advocates for a willingness to confront all aspects of life and human nature, no matter how overwhelming, thus expanding art’s expressive potential and societal relevance.