In the pamphlet Art Work, the issue of how art and labor is viewed in America is raised. Several different artists lend their opinions on the subject, attempting to explain why modern society views the artist as something completely foreign to labor. In Julia Bryan-Wilson’s article, she describes the history of artists and the labor movement, and how Regan’s dismantling of the various art and labor programs eventually helped destroy the public image of artists as workers.
A line is drawn between the championing of Capitalist thought and the fall in art’s reputation as “work”. Bryan-Wilson states that “Because of the erosion of patronage models, the artist is often more subjected to the tastes of the market and its deadening effects then other wage laborers are. For illustrators, this statement is fact. Artists of communication such as illustrators must draw entirely for the whims of the market and those who follow modern trends, or risk losing their income forever. Bryan-Wilson also brings up the point that Capitalist society considers art—and by that extension, artists—to be something “extra”, an activity of leisure that contributes nothing to society. However, that particular view couldn’t be farther from the truth. Throughout history, the artist and the laborer have been viewed as equals in the work world. Both contribute to society by putting what skills they know to use—the laborer in a physical way, the artist in an abstractly mental way.
Ironically, the laborer of yesterday has been replaced by an entirely new kind of worker—that of the Informational Laborer. The Informational Laborer deals with concepts that are just as abstract as the artist’s (such as numbers, social flow, and information in general), yet the artist’s work is seen to be inferior to that of the Informational Laborer. Bryan-Wilson asks rhetorically, “How can art be a profession if there is no employer? To count as ‘work’, need the effort involved be paid…how does art, as an object and a system of signification, circulate as both commodity and sign?” The attitude of the government throughout American history is mostly to blame for this view. The forced estrangement of artists from the “work world” was brought about by those whose definition of labor was limited to jobs that supported the money-driven ideals of Capitalism. Their position of power led to the defamation of the artist and of art work, ultimately crippling the very evolution of work in our modern society. Now, with the economy in the state as it is, the artist—along with the ‘real workers’ are struggling to survive. In order to rejuvenate the work world, the attitude towards “actual” work needs to change. As Frankfurt School writer Marcuse once said, the merging of art and work should be the ultimate aim of any revolution. It is this merger that the work world desperately needs.
The magazine Art Work features, among a number of interesting articles related to artists and their economy, a transcription of a performance piece by artist Chris Burden.
The piece, realized in 1979 is a speech by Burden that was aired on KPFK radio. The medium utilized allowed the artist to reach a large audience, to whom he repeatedly asked to ponder on the consequence of having every single person who was listening to the radio, that day, to send him as little as 25 cents and thus to consider the potentials of small communal efforts.
Although he claims he couldn’t legally ask people to actually send him money, because of regulations linked to non-profit media, he seems to suggest how life changing this possibility is. For no evidence is provided on weather or not this experiment got beyond theoretical practice and people put thoughts into action, today this strategy is undoubtedly a reality. Think for example of all the money requests\begging we receive every day, from people on the streets, religious affiliated organizations and charitable campaigns for emergencies of all kinds. Through ads, radio pieces and emails we are bombarded everyday. Religions prompt us to give people in need and charitable work is generally perceived as a positive deed, in our society.
If initially the though of having an artist ask for money, because he needs more of them, is somewhat laughable, (and some suggests one can hear the laughter in the recording of the piece - http://joelksmock.blogspot.com/2010/01/comments-to-chris-burdens-send-me-your.html). The power of responding to the request signifies the real power people have of realizing dreams by respond to others request. Moreover, Burden’s piece is a reflection on communities. What would happen if people donate twenty-five cents to people how made an effort to ask for them? More importantly would happen if any request that asked for just on action could be resolved? Can we imagine a world in which people made an effort – even a small one- to act towards realizing what they believed was right? As this piece is built upon a concrete example, ramifications on an ethical level could be made, thus elevating this potentially ridiculous piece to the point of a persuasive prose on human powers.
Art Work: The Definition of Labor
ReplyDeleteIn the pamphlet Art Work, the issue of how art and labor is viewed in America is raised. Several different artists lend their opinions on the subject, attempting to explain why modern society views the artist as something completely foreign to labor. In Julia Bryan-Wilson’s article, she describes the history of artists and the labor movement, and how Regan’s dismantling of the various art and labor programs eventually helped destroy the public image of artists as workers.
A line is drawn between the championing of Capitalist thought and the fall in art’s reputation as “work”. Bryan-Wilson states that “Because of the erosion of patronage models, the artist is often more subjected to the tastes of the market and its deadening effects then other wage laborers are. For illustrators, this statement is fact. Artists of communication such as illustrators must draw entirely for the whims of the market and those who follow modern trends, or risk losing their income forever. Bryan-Wilson also brings up the point that Capitalist society considers art—and by that extension, artists—to be something “extra”, an activity of leisure that contributes nothing to society. However, that particular view couldn’t be farther from the truth. Throughout history, the artist and the laborer have been viewed as equals in the work world. Both contribute to society by putting what skills they know to use—the laborer in a physical way, the artist in an abstractly mental way.
Ironically, the laborer of yesterday has been replaced by an entirely new kind of worker—that of the Informational Laborer. The Informational Laborer deals with concepts that are just as abstract as the artist’s (such as numbers, social flow, and information in general), yet the artist’s work is seen to be inferior to that of the Informational Laborer. Bryan-Wilson asks rhetorically, “How can art be a profession if there is no employer? To count as ‘work’, need the effort involved be paid…how does art, as an object and a system of signification, circulate as both commodity and sign?” The attitude of the government throughout American history is mostly to blame for this view. The forced estrangement of artists from the “work world” was brought about by those whose definition of labor was limited to jobs that supported the money-driven ideals of Capitalism. Their position of power led to the defamation of the artist and of art work, ultimately crippling the very evolution of work in our modern society. Now, with the economy in the state as it is, the artist—along with the ‘real workers’ are struggling to survive. In order to rejuvenate the work world, the attitude towards “actual” work needs to change. As Frankfurt School writer Marcuse once said, the merging of art and work should be the ultimate aim of any revolution. It is this merger that the work world desperately needs.
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Chris Burden - “Send Me Your Money”
ReplyDeleteThe magazine Art Work features, among a number of interesting articles related to artists and their economy, a transcription of a performance piece by artist Chris Burden.
The piece, realized in 1979 is a speech by Burden that was aired on KPFK radio. The medium utilized allowed the artist to reach a large audience, to whom he repeatedly asked to ponder on the consequence of having every single person who was listening to the radio, that day, to send him as little as 25 cents and thus to consider the potentials of small communal efforts.
Although he claims he couldn’t legally ask people to actually send him money, because of regulations linked to non-profit media, he seems to suggest how life changing this possibility is. For no evidence is provided on weather or not this experiment got beyond theoretical practice and people put thoughts into action, today this strategy is undoubtedly a reality. Think for example of all the money requests\begging we receive every day, from people on the streets, religious affiliated organizations and charitable campaigns for emergencies of all kinds. Through ads, radio pieces and emails we are bombarded everyday. Religions prompt us to give people in need and charitable work is generally perceived as a positive deed, in our society.
If initially the though of having an artist ask for money, because he needs more of them, is somewhat laughable, (and some suggests one can hear the laughter in the recording of the piece - http://joelksmock.blogspot.com/2010/01/comments-to-chris-burdens-send-me-your.html). The power of responding to the request signifies the real power people have of realizing dreams by respond to others request. Moreover, Burden’s piece is a reflection on communities. What would happen if people donate twenty-five cents to people how made an effort to ask for them? More importantly would happen if any request that asked for just on action could be resolved? Can we imagine a world in which people made an effort – even a small one- to act towards realizing what they believed was right?
As this piece is built upon a concrete example, ramifications on an ethical level could be made, thus elevating this potentially ridiculous piece to the point of a persuasive prose on human powers.
378ws.