Warhols Idea of Relationship Between Art and Business and Art Is Philosophy

Pop art spoke to the maintenance of the capitalist economic structure by affirming commercialism as an economical ideology through business practices and commercial reproduction techniques, similar silk screening and direct appropriation. In this sense they were notably antithetical to the Marxist, hippie, current of thought that had also been in vogue during the 60's. In his book, "The Philosophy of Andy Warhol", Andy Warhol talks about the relationship between art and business concern in the 60's.

"Business organization art is the step that comes later Art. I started as a commercial artist, and I desire to finish as a business artist. Later I did the matter called "art" or whatever it's chosen, I went into business art. I wanted to be an Art Man of affairs or a Business organization Creative person. Existence good in business is the most fascinating kind of fine art. During the hippie era people put down the idea of business—they'd say, 'Coin is bad,' and 'Working is bad,' but making money is art and working is art and good business organization is the best art." (Warhol, pg. 92)

The "Dark-green Coca Cola Bottles" (1962) painting is a standard 'business art' work that was produced by Andy Warhol. Many people were not a fan of Warhol'southward business organization attitude. They saw it as commodification of art, changing fine art into mere products for the marketplace, to be bought and sold. Art critics in the early 60'due south, certainly saw popular art as a threat to fine art in full general, or at to the lowest degree to their sense of 'loftier' fine art culture."Pandering to everyman-common-denominator tastes, kitsch threatened to eradicate loftier culture by seducing away its audiences- as well as artists themselves. This development imperiled the distinction between 'high' and 'low' culture, between art and commodity." (Doris, pg. 19) While many people disliked pop art precisely for the reason that it was supportive of capitalism and catered to the mass culture, this may be one of the principal reasons for its not bad success. It was art that was accessible to more people and easier to understand than previous movements such as abstruse expressionism.

(click to enlarge) Prototype courtesy of media.wbur.com.

Simply while pop art was pro-capitalist, it was as well revolutionary in a unlike sense than traditional Marxism. Pop art sought to democratize the 'high' civilization of the art world, which had previously been segmented into its ain portion of society. We can run into evidence for this sort of democratization in Lawrence Alloway'due south essay "Arts and the Mass Media" (1958). He concludes,

"… it is no longer sufficient to ascertain culture solely as something that a minority guards for the few and the time to come (though such fine art is uniquely valuable and a precious as ever). Our definition of culture is existence stretched across the fine fine art limits imposed on information technology by Renaissance theory, and refers at present, increasingly, to the whole circuitous of human activities."

Pop art had gone across the confines of the art gallery. It had actually began to affect the very media that had influenced information technology in the start identify: advert. In reference to a popular art marketing campaign, ad-agency president Ernie Fladell remarked, "sure, we're using a pop philosophy, merely pop is kind of a movement rather than an art thing.. We've captured this fun matter that'due south happening." (pg. 141, Doris) The art globe had began to eat into popular culture, and if art critics were afraid that pop art was going to ruin 'high' art, it may exist the instance that it actually just improved 'low' art. Pop art now constituted the 'high' culture of the art world and information technology was speedily democratizing the artistic sensibility to the mass culture.

"In August 1965, the Daily News reported on the new pop phenomenon: Information technology'due south all part of the new scene in New York- the scene that includes underground movies, wacky fashions and discotheque dancing. It has hit art hard and the fine art earth has exploded, non with a blindside but with a Pop- Pop Art, that is. None of these 'cultural developments' is isolated… Taken together they add together up to a cultural revolution." (pg. 146, Doris)

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