art -- capitalism’s high-wire act

In capitalism a raw material is extracted far away, shipped, refined, and extruded into all the stuff around. It’s complicated bringing a product to market and involves the efforts and livelihoods of many people in many places. The people who make the real money never lift a brick, far away, high up in the sky -- just the way it works.

Here is a person for whatever reason attempting to tame the enormously complex economic system directly, to remain independent while playing by the rules. They are going to try to take raw material, in this case canvas and paint cheap and available to anyone, and transform them into a product of so much value they can sell it and make a living. Wouldn’t that be a fine thing to pull off?

It’s both an amazingly egotistical and yet humble approach to living here, both a ‘calling’ and a sly attempt to bypass the fine print in the social contract. It’s egotistical obviously because someone thinks their talent and commitment could provide them with roof and sustenance, and modest because it’s a trade that traditionally involves scraping by doing other stuff.

All the same questions apply bringing any product to market -- will it be mostly sizzle, will it be substance? Quality is a conversation between the artist and the prospective owner, and the more knowledgable the buyer the nicer the chat. Exposed to the spectrum of art from around here a community could find its own true level of sophistication and taste, develop its own artists, and perhaps find its own regional voice. It's a transformation which builds slowly and yet seems sudden when it happens. Long experience shows the most authentic, accomplished, interesting art is found when people make their own choices, buy for their own reasons, and spend their own money -- capitalism’s better self and democracy’s genius.

solid state art -- no wires, no batteries

What does a work of art do? We’ve gotten over the notion that art is a pointless luxury purchased with what’s left over after closets are full of furs and seven car garages stuffed with exotic iron, but what is its function day to day? Oh, the smart set may drop a couple of hundred thou on some smear any talented grad student could reproduce, and probably did, but such trade seems frivolous and silly to the average citizen. Art as an investment seems cavalier even to those who value risk, and without any control, really, regarding authenticity it makes no sense at all. 

As decoration all that stuff in frames that ‘looks like art’ from factory outlets claiming to represent starving artists has that look about it, and for good reason. At the other end are sweat-shop conditions for people who, as a fact, are paid rather poorly. Even high quality reproductions of great works of art don’t lie very well, and aren’t likely to draw attention away from tasteful drapes and carpeting. Original art, on the other hand, exerts an influence over the room it’s in.

Does it compete with sixty inches of hyper-intense, slo-mo replay, guns a poppin’, burgers and pickups -- not much does including sunsets and waterfalls, but sometimes it’s off and art on the wall is a constant presence, drawing our attention and influencing how we see. With no wires or external source of energy art offers the example of directed focus and applied attention, and that’s not without value in a land of digitalized mass-produced everything. As a fact it’s this 3-D printed, special effects enhanced, hand-held ‘looking-glass’ reality we’ve wandered into that makes original art so potent. 

Art is a bit of protein in the high-fat, artificially sweetened comfort diet of modern living, and it’s going to taste pretty good even with a mediocre cook. Excellent art, you get to choose, will help stave off the soft bones and ego-depletion that being caught in traffic twice a day, endless tail-chasing conferences, and office pecking orders can bring on. This quality of visual art, this rejuvenation of the senses and grounding for the personality haven’t been emphasized much because salesmen are generally uncomfortable with those issues. Salesmen would rather refer to bluebook listings and cite reputation, prices at auction, and maybe offer you a deal because you got this special appreciation -- such as that.

Art is a machine, a technology from a different era perhaps, but one that still operates, still influences and enhances its owner’s perception and thought process, and all it needs to work is to be seen everyday.