Enlightened Self-Interest. The Avant-Garde in the 80's

This article examines the effect that the economic and political
environment of conservatism has had upon recent art production,
in particular the impact exerted by the art market, coporate
patronage, (artistic) commodity strategy, and the media. The
author tries to show the adaptability of capitalism as it
confronts challenge, and to show the way that power works
through the cultural sphere to control dissent. As regards art
and cultural production, reference is made to such authors as
Herbert Marcuse (""The Affirmative Character of Culture''),
Peter Bürger (""Theory of the Avant-Garde''), and Thomas Crow
(""Modernism and Mass Culture in the Visual Arts''). The use of
artists in advertisements is discussed (such as Andy Warhol's
""I thought I was too small for Drexel Burnham''). Another issue
addressed is the constructing of sub-cultures (in reference to
Dick Hebdige's ""Subculture: The Meaning of Style''). A
concluding statement by the author: ""Critical artists must
negotiate the space between high art and mass culture, between
the elite audience and the general public, between rejection of
the system and acceptance of it. As a result, most art works
have both critical and uncritical moments, times when they
enlarge social possibilities and times when they do not. Since
interpretation depends upon social, economic, and political
contexts, meaning can be altered by any significant change in
these contexts. Shifting the context of interpretation has been
used as a critical strategy, but it is also a strategy performed
upon critical work by those who represent the interests of the
staus quo. (As we have seen), critical work can be folded into
the maelstrom of distraction and entertainment that marks our
time''.


Citaten:
Marcuse, H.: The Affirmative Character of Culture
Bürger, P.: Theory of Avant-Garde
Crow, Th.: Modernism and Mass Culture in the Visual Arts
Hebdige, D.: Subculture: The Meaning of a Style