Content vs. Form

Well I've had many a debate (usually with fine artists) about the importance of content over form. Coming from a background in illustration my interest is usually toward form. By that I mean that I have an interest in aesthetic value, or simply put, stuff that looks cool. But many folks prefer the value of content or, the meaning behind the form. Many folks value only art that has some deeper idea, thought or message behind the image. They would say that form is useless and meaningless without some content or deeper meaning. Ive no problem with people who hold this view. I dont feel that way but I think the world is a better place when there is a variety of opinion on these issues of taste. Some people feel the need to convince the world that their opinion is the true and correct view. They see their way of thinking as being of a higher order and more elevated. Well I don't think that any opinion can really be better than another. I see this issue with most major Hollywood blockbusters, in that they are all form and visual flare with very little content other than rehashed old cliches. Im sure my brother who is a writer would agree with that one. I on the other hand can enjoy a movie purely for its aesthetic value. I still enjoy a well crafted story and find movies that have both content and form to be the most fun. I would say the same of art. But given the choice between aesthetic value, and ideas, I'll take the aesthetics. Im sure there are a lot of fine ideas coming from the minds of artists out there, but I'll just take the cool imagery for myself and leave it at that. This is the same as my attitude towards music. I love music and songs, but rock n' roll singers would be the last people I'd turn to for good ideas or advice. I think its a pretty funny that people value the thoughts and ideas expressed by people like Kurt Cobain and Marilyn Manson. I expect I'd enjoy having a beer and friendly chat with either of those dudes, but I wouldn't turn to them for a paradigm shift. When I want to think, I usually prefer to go to scholars, writers, and philosophers. I respect ideas from scientists like Michio Kaku, movers and shakers like Ghandi, philosophers like Lao Tzu and Ram Dass, and teachers like Allan Watts. While people like Andy Warhol, Marcel Duchamp, and even Salvador Dali, may have had a lot to say, none of it really interested me at all ( though I still dig Dalis' work on both the visual and gut level).
I think a lot of artists, especially students in school will lie to people and themselves about what they like. There is a pressure in a lot of facets of the art world to hold substance as more valuable than form. There is a type of group mindset in many places that many people fall into without realizing it. I have seen this in art school and I've seen it in the world of galleries. Artists will go into one of these fields with a love of aesthetics and form and it will get squeezed out of them by critics and art teachers. They will try to interject content into works that don't need it like comic book art or sci fi/ fantasy illustrations etc. . With a collective group mindset leaning towards the content, they will move away from what they really like to get recognition, appreciation, and the approval. This to me is a loss of individuality and always frightening when it happens in our culture.
Admittedly, its impossible to create an image without any idea or feeling behind it. The imagery has to come from somewhere even if it is subconscious. Carl Jung described the unconscious mind as a vast dark ocean surrounding the tiny island of conscious thought. I tend to agree with this and I think without some semblance of thought or emotion behind an image, you'd end up with a bland neutral grey canvas. If for example I was to paint a landscape or a simple still life, there isn't much of an idea behind it, but the way I paint it, the subject I pick, the strokes I use all say something, but thats just getting into the realm of psychoanalysis I think.
Simply stated, I like stuff that looks cool. I have no shame in admitting this and if you dont feel that way Im cool with that. If you feel as I do that most artists are overly emotional, naive, and lacking in anything interesting to say, then I offer my thanks and congratulations on reading all the way through my silly naive little rant.