The Art of being a Capitalist Pig

The Art of being a Capitalist Pig

Since about 1984 I've been a regular on the Fine Art Scene. It started with my first years as a "budding" classical flutist (that's a story for another day) and one day, my interest as a painter piqued and I haven't looked back. One thing that I have learned over those years is that the fine art market - be it music or art - is one tough market. And there are a lot of reasons why.

Let's start with the people who participate in the world of art: Not the easiest people to know. While I believe most of us here at FAA are pretty level-headded and well rounded individuals - it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see why some in the art world really scare the "Average Joe" You have more artists who are either so bizarre they can't adjust themselves to the mainstream, and others who are so snobby that they are convinced their stuff don't stink and look down at you because you don't hold that opinion - of them. For years the art world has found new and creative ways to separate themselves from most of the American Public, they are in love with being a clique - and ignore and often insult that same public who buys the movie tickets, listen to the music and shop for art for their walls.

If you then take the time to understand the average ball player - he's got to hit a ball over the fence - as one of our artists has so stated in a blog of recent. And believe me, I understand his point of view, I really do - he's not the only one who lays awake lamenting this at night. But between the art set and the sport set it's far easier for Average Joe to understand bat-to-ball over paint-to-canvas. Sports are heavily taught in schools, and when a new levy doesn't get passed, it's usually the art programs that get cut. For years the music students had to pay-to-play by renting or purchasing an instrument, buying the sheet music and taking the lessons and yet parents scream when other students are asked to fork over $50 to play football.

I wish that I could change the makeup of parts of American society and teach people to understand how color effects their mood on a daily basis than does the recent antics of Brittany Spears (child porn-star, for those who don't know). But as children, we are given a ball and a bat, or a sexy Barbie doll and lots of clothes to dress her in - but rarely do parents spend the time to take their kids to the art museum, or a gallery opening. They don't take their kids to the orchestra, the ballet - nor do they enroll their kids in some kind of art class or school. These things are thought to be the realm of the wealthy, the "arts and croissant" set and average Americans are often felt to be left out.

These attitudes then filter directly into the market forces of capitalism. Many fathers grew up with a bat and ball in their hands - so then they spend a Sunday afternoon watching the game with their sons. Those fans mean advertisers pay big bucks to have their ads shown and since better ball players get better exposure - more fans for the team, higher ad rates for the advertiser and that translates into big bucks for the players. This is the way it works and our entire society is extremely rich because of it. You can't blame the ball player when you go out of your way to find out who won the game last Sunday, who's playing next Sunday and who's going to the finals. You pay to buy team jerseys, even if you don't go to the game - and you spend the time to check out the scores and stats on the sports channels. They measure every aspect of this and know where every dollar is going and they know how much the public likes it and is willing to pay for it.

We as artists have to find a way to excite the marketplace - Nascar did it. Years ago-all the sport was about was the car. It was only exciting for the really hard-core race fans (those who could tell a alternator from a fuel pump)...but it didn't translate into big dollars. So they shifted their focus - it became about the racers - their personalities, their rivalries. I don't follow Nascar and yet I bet I can name at least three well known names in the sport. All that and yet I CANNOT name three up and coming modern artists in the United States today. Again - this group of people loves to be a clique, they love to exclude themselves from society and the only really popular artist - Thomas Kincaid - has managed to become a marketing genius over his artwork. So much so that he's become, quite simply a one trick pony.....and people are still buying his stuff in droves.

So there we have it, unless we change our approach, most of America isn't going to be very interested. Stop handing out government dollars for artists who strive to insult the mainstream and instead open a gallery that caters to the common people. It doesn't mean having to bend or break the focus of your art - not at all. It just simply means that we need to become more fascinating to the rest of the world. Sure it's going to hack-off the snobby-set - but where have they gotten us anyway? Sell a work for $1000 on ebay and they won't call you an artist, trust me. With enough of our heads together, we can actually change the way the market works for us.

And here is one last point in case you doubt me. Have you seen the line up of television shows for the discovery channels lately? LAInk - tatoo artists, American Chopper - guys who build bikes. Who would have dreamed these people would have their own TV shows? Seriously? Then there's other reality-styled shows like "Top Designer" and "Top Chef" and Ace of Cakes - the guy bakes cakes for a living! I just don't see why we are missing the boat here, it's like every niche has a show and yet the artists are still out there hoping someone will see their work and buy it.

To use a sports analogy....It's time to change the playing field here, people. And it's up to us to do it.