Category: The Art of Commitment

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.

In order for any theory of art to exist, one must be able to distinguish what is art from what is not.

In the time of Plato and Aristotle, the function of art was social. Today we are used to art for art’s sake.

Our advanced capitalist market economy is based on the relationship between supply and demand, and on the specialised production of goods and knowledge.

It is essential to be able to distinguish between the insignificant and the essential. But in the current context it is difficult to discern.

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.

Most artists throughout history have produced homogeneous, conformist and complacent art.

Art is always political. It exists within a context and uses elements that have a historical, political and social dimension.