Contemporary art, believe it or not, is hot. When comedian
Stephen Colbert “begs” British graffiti artist
Banksy not to make the walls of his studio’s building the next target in his
Better Out Than In series (aka, “Banksy Takes Manhattan”) and instantly send property values skyrocketing, you know that contemporary art’s hit the mainstream. But is this popularity a good thing? In a preview of the
London Frieze Art Fair,
The Financial Times’ Peter Aspden
weighs the pluses and minuses of contemporary art’s current status. Admittedly, the popularity of and financial investment in contemporary art
beats the alternative, but, as Aspden points out, “it’s hard to deny that in its quest for instant accessibility, contemporary art has lost something of the sense of purpose that it enjoyed when it was genuinely pushing at the boundaries of moral and social consensus.” Aspen believes that the public more willingly swallows contemporary art because “it is so easily consumed and digested.” Should the contemporary art world be choking on its own success? Can contemporary art become too popular?
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Can Contemporary Art Become Too Popular?"
[Image: Banksy. This Is My New York Accent ... Normally I Write Like This, 2013. Part of the Better Out Than In series. Located at 508 West 25th Street, Westside, New York City, NY.] [Follow me on Twitter (@BobDPictureThis) and Facebook (Art Blog By Bob).]