There is in fact no such thing as art for art's sake,art that stands above classes or art that is detached from or independent of politics.
Acting to him was never just a distraction, art for art's sake.
He refused to imbue his music with a patriotic mission or himself with any grand purpose, preferring art for art's sake.
The development of Chinese calligraphy is not the result of the logic of itself, and the birth of styles is not the product of the so-called theory of "art for art's sake".