In this text I defend the idea that art has a function and that the function of art is political.
I start by asking myself what is art? The various theories that I have found have made me reach the conclusion that it is pointless to try to define art. It does not matter what art is; we can decide that. What is important is the value art has for us. Its value depends on how it is used.
The idea of art for art’s sake and that of artistic production as the reflection of the internal vision of the artist is relatively new. The function of art since prehistory has predominantly been that of advertising. Art has been and is consistently used by those in power as a tool for political propaganda.
With the arrival of photography, the function of art changes. The power, which nowadays is in the hands of big corporations and states, still uses visual production as a tool for political propaganda.
Yet, the main visual output of our culture today, even though it is the art of the period, no longer comes from the arts world, but from the mass media,
especially advertising. Art loses its main function but continues to serve those in power in the form of capitalism’s perfect product.
Each system encourages in people the features that it needs to maintain itself and grow. The maintenance and strengthening of a system of power normally does not happen for the benefit of the people that compose it.
Despite this, thanks to the technological advances in communication; today, people have a power of organisation and action that they have never had before.
The vacuum that art finds itself in is an opportunity for it to redefine itself. Art now has the opportunity to contribute to the improvement of society as a whole. What we value in art, its ability to enrich us as people, can now become its aim. It is time for art to commit.
The Art of Commitment
Research Paper for the MA in Fine Art at Central Saint Martins, London 2007.
1. Introduction
In The Art of Commitment, I argue that the function of art is political and that it is used to serve the interests of a market economy.
2. What is art?
In order for any theory of art to exist, one must be able to distinguish what is art from what is not.
3. The function of art through history
In the time of Plato and Aristotle, the function of art was social. Today we are used to art for art’s sake.
4. The current context
Our advanced capitalist market economy is based on supply and demand, and the specialised production of goods and knowledge.
5. How the current context shapes people
It is essential to be able to distinguish between the insignificant and the essential. But in the current context it is difficult to discern.
6. The arts world in the current context
The art world is a reflection of the world around it. Artists and academics have internalised the needs of the system of which they are part.
7. The artist
Most artists throughout history have produced homogeneous, conformist and complacent art.
8. The art of commitment
Art is always political. It exists within a context and uses elements that have a historical, political and social dimension.