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ART vs. COMMERCE

7/16/2013

1 Comment

 
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"When artists get together, they talk about money. When entrepreneurs get together they talk about art." —Oscar Wilde

Actor Charlton Heston once said “The trouble with movies as a business, is that they’re an art; of course, the trouble with movies as an art is that they’re a business.” Thus has been the dichotomy of the art world for centuries. Back in the day (way back in the day) artists depended on the patronage of wealthy families or the Church for their livelihood. That was fine to a point but can you imagine what the likes of Michaelangelo and da Vinci could have or would have created without the yoke of the Catholic Church or the Medici family?

There was a time in the music business when art was created with minimal constraints of commerce but as in all artistic endeavors, once left brain thinking people realized music’s commercial potential they began to put pressure on artists to conform to the realities of the marketplace. Don’t get me wrong, there is a balance. All artists desire a larger audience and the way to get the larger audience is to produce works that a larger audience will consume monetarily. Artists can and do follow their muse and be true to themselves without “selling out”. We don’t remember Beethoven as being a gifted piano teacher or a particularly virtuosic performer but that is how he supported himself while he wrote the music for which he is remembered.

The problem in our modern society is the fact that the film industry, the music industry, and most artistic concerns have been overrun with Harvard MBA types who only look at the bottom line of an artistic undertaking. Art cannot be judged by the amount of dollars it brings in. That stifles creativity. Often times, progressive art movements flounder economically before they are finally accepted and revered.

One question I have always struggled with is this: does marketing respond to the public or does it create the market. American Idol is a hugely successful television show and by all accounts, the singers it has produced should have had a tremendous impact on the music business but that impact has fallen woefully short, Carrie Underwood notwithstanding. I am reminded of Thomas Kinkade who was probably the most successful artist (monetarily) in history but reportedly suffered from depression because his art was not viewed as seriously as he had imagined it should have been in serious art circles.

The balance both for artists and businesspeople is a delicate one and once the pendulum swings in one direction or the other, either the art suffers or the ability for people to profit from it does.

We leave you with this quote and welcome your comments.


“When nations grow old, the arts grow cold and commerce settles on every tree.”  --William Blake



1 Comment
Branwen link
3/2/2014 04:57:23 am

"One question I have always struggled with is this: does marketing respond to the public or does it create the market"

That is quite the precise crux we face in most every industry today upon which mankind's body and soul depends....the chicken or the egg....at this point in the cycle I'm convinced the chicken definitely came first, as the "egg" that produced the first chicken was not of the "egg" which we are familiar with chickens producing....and if the industries and arts continue to go the route of genetically/digitally engineering their markets eggs to control the mass consciousness and buying patterns it will ultimately spontaneously combust or necrotize unless we make intentional choices to let the arts and inspiration breathe and thrive. Of course this means people have to choose the joy of inspiration over the lust of this dollars drive.

The William Blake (brilliant soul) quote is chillingly accurate.......but ends are always new beginnings, so what a great and incredibly aggravating time for us to be alive...what an opportunity to shape the future. It's the great cycle that never stops repeating, and we hold the power of the future in our hands...only if we harness our thought, and I think the core of the issue is most of the Masses lack control of their minds and the few use it to their own advantage to manipulate markets. If we heal humanity from the inside out perhaps we can swing the change that makes the arts and all good things thrive.

As an aside, I think it's idiotic that people would rather have a digital copy than a hard copy, be it music or books. One good CME and everything is fucked.

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