To sell or not to sell? (by Monica)
"Art is the journey of the free soul." - Alev Oguz
Art has always been a part of our lives. From how the early humans used to paint their history on the cave walls to Da Vinci expressing the beauty of the human anatomy. Art, as Williams states, is an example of the definition of culture as the documentary category (Williams 1961). Art has been the oldest medium to record our stories, thoughts, problems and lives in general. In other words, creativity and imagination are ways for us to express ourselves in the purest form. In the same way, the entertainment industry, also call film art, shows a part of human nature, culture and imagination. On the other hand, commerce is linked to the economic part of societies. People are constantly buying and selling art product in all types of active markets that is why mass consumption has become part of mass culture.
In recent years, many have come to notice the complex relationship between these two topic have, but still argue that their relationship is unavoidable. The relationship between art and commerce has always been the subject of a heated debate. Many people see creativity and imagination as a means of economic interest, while others see it a pure dedication to creative exploration of one's self. The world in which we live today see the highly commercialised global creative industry, including visual and performing arts, sound recording, book publishing and film making as a global enterprise (Dellorco 2020). Adorno and Horkheimer argued that "...if a movement from a Beethoven symphony is crudely "adapted" for a film soundtrack in the same way as a Tolstoy novel is garbled in a film script: then the claim that this is done to satisfy the spontaneous wishes of the public is no more than hot air."(1944, p.33). We have to ask when "art"becomes "entertainment" and when "entertainment" "becomes and simple "product".
For once, we have the famous reality show "Dance Moms". It is about Abby Lee Miller managing the Abby Lee Dance Company in Pittsburg. She is a demanding and passionate instructor, who started at 14, but she has the competition of the mothers, as they are as demanding as her when it comes to their daughters. The series highlights the ups and downs of of the competitive dance season as the young dancers pursue the national dance title. Even though the TV show is quite good and provides the viewers an interesting backstage pass, the high ratings it has is due to the constant issue of dealing with the over-the-top mothers, their fights and drama while trying to help their daughters' dreams come true. This is the line where "art"becomes "entertainment" because it is not about the dancing anymore since it becomes an antagonist. Then, "entertainment"or the drama becomes a simple "product"that entices people and make the film studio gain profit. Hence, the question here is how to sell art and still be true to one's artistic spirit, creativity and imagination.
References:
Dellorco, C. (2020, March 5). Art Vs. Commerce: The artist's eternal conflict. Art Business News. Retrieved from https://artbusinessnews.com/2013/03/art-vs-commerce-the-artists-eternal-conflict/
Williams, R. (1961). The Long Revolution. The analysis of Culture, 32-40. doi:10.7312/will93760
This is such an interesting post Monica. There is indeed a new generation of reality shows that are driving attention towards the arts and crafts (pottery, clothes design, make up, etc.), as much as a collection of activities that have traditionally fall under the category of high arts (ballet, painting, etc..). What I find fascinating is how these popular TV shows, are actually allowing people to see these artistic traditions under a different light: many of the people who watch the show, have probably never set foot in a ballet performance. These shows help to apporach these arts that have unjustly being detached from the people.
ReplyDeleteBruna Oliveira:
ReplyDeleteHello Monica, I really liked your post and I agree with you that there has always been an unavoidable relation between art and commerce that we can trace back all the way to Shakespeare or Tchaikovsky. Answering your question, I believe that art and entertainment become simply a product when there is standardization. In other words, when there starts to be much reproduction of the same without any innovation. As Adorno and Horkheimer criticize, through emotional stimuli the culture industry removes intellect from the formula. I relly liked your example of Dance Moms because it shows exactly how the produces focus more on the fightings instead of the dance because this attracts the masses.