The age old quandry for the artist. Should you create what the market dictates? Or should you create what your passion dictates?
Trinidad Carnival is a perfect example of why it is dangerous to create what the market dictates. Your market may not have artistic vision. Line up 6 costumes from six different bands, and there is no way you can tell which band is which. Throw a Minshall or MacFarlane costume in there and immediately you can tell their signature.
But then again, is Carnival an art? Or has it just become a business?
A walk through our galleries, which are businesses, will show what the market wants to buy in art. And Artists continue to create the beach scenes, the chatel houses, and the nostalgic pictures of days gone by.
What about art as social commentary, what about art that incites thought? Where are these?
Unfortunately we only have galleries which want art which the market wants, because these are private galleries driven by monetary goals. Thus, there is a specific, tight little box of an idea about what is "good art."
Art is supposed to remove the masses from where they are and transport them to a higher place. It is meant to create an almost spiritual response. When we keep producing more of the same, we are perpetuating the staleness of minds in a people.
It is happening in our crafts (Carnival) our music (jump and Wave) and in our lifestyle....note our cycles from New Year to Carnival to Easter to......party hard is the motto. We give no seriously real thought to improving our lot.
Artists must create the triggers for change. That is our responsibility.
Comments
I must with you 100% on this post Artists are or should be the societies catalyst of change, creativity and intellectual development, however it seems that big business and social standing has taken over from artistic expression, turning Carnival especially mas into a mundane repetitive parade of flesh bikinis and diamantes...the true Artist I believe can never be dictated too, the real artist dictates the trends, sets the pace and sets imaginations and societies on fire with their passions , the so called designers today can never be Artist or Mas men/women, for what they do year after year reflects no imagination or passion, however it does reflect the Artistic and Intellectual Stagnation of the society or worse a generation...and while we all must eat and pay the bills create for yourself I say the income will come...great post!
Mas Assassin.