Art has been with humans since the beginning, as we find art in everything. It was pure and meant artistic at first. However, the time has changed a lot, and now we have diversified art fields. Not only just different fields and types of artists but also different societies. Some decades ago, art got a false competitor in the name of capitalism art. People these days call it conceptual art, and its meaning is complex to understand. The term capitalism consists many meanings, as people understand it in several ways. So what this term exactly means in the art world?
This article will discuss how capitalism contributed to the development of conceptual art. It is a complex topic, so you must focus on understanding it. Many postgrad students pick this topic for final year research and end up asking if I need someone to write my dissertation for me. Besides, let’s help you get this topic, but first, what capitalism is and its role in art.
Capitalism in Art
We believe you know what the term “selling out” means. Capitalism means the same as selling out. Here, a person becomes the owner of a property and can sell it for their financial sake and profits. In the same way, capitalism in art means selling artistic properties and artworks for the sake of profit and business. For artists, it is a cheap way that business owners use to get profit. It scorns the art community, and business people should not interfere with art traditions.
For decades, artists and capitalists fight over the effect capitalism has on art. Artists believe that caring about only profit through arts makes an artist less noble, and so does their artwork. They also believe that it destroys their creative honor. Sadly, the world we live in is capitalist, and it is a shame for artists to live in such a society.
There are no doubt artists also have to earn money, as it will not make them dishonest. Yet, sacrificing art just for the sake of profit is corrupt. Many artists work with local firms to make a mural, but they get fair and ethical pay in return. They do not sell their artistic purity for the sake of money, which is good.
Capitalism and the Development of Conceptual Art
Now comes the complex phase where most people get puzzled about the link between capitalism and its contribution to the growth of conceptual art. Though some people get this concept easily, most struggle. Let us ease things for you by defining when conceptual art came into existence and for what. The US marched in a capitalist art movement between the 1960s and 1970s, which brought conceptual art as a solution. You might be thinking, why has capitalism had to interfere with art? What could be the reason?
In the mid of 1900s, some developers and business owners came across the idea of washing. It simply called artists sellouts in an indirect way, which spread chaos in the art community. However, the art community could not stand a chance against those giant developers and business owners. They got successful in making conceptual art global. The art community proposed that developers and business owners can do better things with collaborate with artists without using art to increase profits and own goods. Even today, artists say that people should use art to improve run-down areas, not to get profits.
Capitalism helped the growth of conceptual art. Conceptual art offered developers many benefits and increased their profits. Once there was no idea of conceptual art, but the greed of capitalists to increase profits brought it in. For sure, capitalism contributed greatly to the development of conceptual art. However, it took away the freedom of artists to create the art they wish to make.
The War between Artists and Capitalists on Conceptual Art
After some years of the existence of conceptual art, the artists chose to fight back. They went to protests on streets globally and urged capitalists to stop the idea. Their proposal was to give artists the freedom to create whatever they want to. Plus, if capitalists want them to create artwork for their businesses, the contracts must give artists a copyright for their work. These demands were not so high, but capitalists only thought about their profits and did not let artists win. Today, we live in a capitalist society, where people only want to increase profit in any way.
The global capitalist act and conceptual art would not even exist today if the artists’ protests got successful. They just demanded to promote more commissioning street murals, than business ads. Aside from it, some of the artists proposed outstanding ideas, such as organizations to host performance art events or create a pop-up photo gallery. All these ideas were pure, ethical to art, and non-profitable.
In the mid-1900s, artists got together and proposed the idea of promoting arts as a way to help local creative professionals build careers. They believed that thinking of art as a product to increase profit is dishonest to the art community. However, the capitalists did what they had to and thought only about their businesses and profits. Since then, capitalism is ruling the world and defeated art. Sadly, now we do not have such influencing artists like Michelangelo, Mandela, or Leonardo Da Vinci to bring a change.
Conclusion
Understanding capitalism is easy, but its presence in the arts makes it hard. However, we hope you understood it well through this article. The way it arose in the development of conceptual art is visible and easy to understand. Although, knowing that art lost the battle against capitalism is upsetting (no offense to any capitalists). We believe some things are better to keep as memorials than profitable assets.
Besides, if you are an art historian or becoming one, this article can fit well for a final-year research task. You can also use the above info to cite in your work so that you will not need any help or think of someone to do my dissertation for me.
