Photo by shironosov - Getty Images
Art lovers at art gallery with wine
Civilization is currently in the throes of a number of radical transformations—technological, political, social and cultural. The art world confronts these various upheavals in its own particular ways. As a long-time challenger to the objectifying forces of media, art stands as an agent of fierce resistance. On the other hand, it’s a vulnerable pre-digital organ seeking protection from the onslaught. The uncertainty has sent the art world into a defensive stance. And Milwaukee’s less commercially active one even more so.
The Milwaukee art community takes great pride in its defiance of the greater art machine. And this has made it a DIY paradise, with a community of makers who make despite its distance from the commercial plenty on the other coasts. In the absence of reliable funding, we’ve tended to lean on a conservationist model in Milwaukee. Meaning, we tend to seek financial help from protectors. We often hear that art “deserves” to be funded, because having art around is better for all of us. But there’s a danger in that model. Abandoning the gritty brokenness of an uncertain market for the noblesse of institutional funding leads to a feedback loop that causes increasing dependence on institutions. Which in turn distorts production over time. The system causes art to chase the values of that model. And stops addressing the desires of individual patrons, the patrons stop caring about art.
This doesn’t hurt art in the short term, but it incrementally erodes the popular interest that would grow into future philanthropy. Remember that the philanthropy we have now is really just the offspring of a torrid love affair born on someone’s wild first date with art a long time ago. By the time any of these benefactors give for “good” they’ve absorbed, taken for granted, and ethically recontextualized the sexy allure that originally drew them to the world of art. Overlooking this leads us to consume our seed corn without planting any for the future.
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Defensive Angst
The most difficult leap in making this argument is persuading those in the art world that its love of proper, orthodox art has evolved to meet that dysfunctional system. Who wants to believe that their tastes are shaped by such external forces? But from 30,000 feet it’s clear that patterns exist. We see them in stances against the “commercial” art market. And they sound more like social contagions than philosophies; more like defensive angst than remarks from the other side of the mountain. Resisting the soul-sucking forces of late-stage capitalism is certainly a worthy battle; but art just isn’t the same as Costco, Amazon, Disneyland or Call of Duty. Art is radical by nature, and any commerce in its direction diverts commerce from other stupider directions. Whether it’s painting or protest, authentic acts of creativity and conviction shouldn’t have to fight this distinction. And especially within its own camps. If the art world doesn’t realize this soon it’s doomed to spiral downward and inward.
I’ve wondered for years how art became so unfun and self-absorbed. I suspect that a lot of bad religion originates in art schools, which produces culture and ideas from the funded safety of institutional sanctuaries. Funded for the moment at least. Programs have little incentive to spread a message of outward connection to potential art lovers. They recoil as the public recoils, turning continuously inward like so many medieval monks. The only problem is, the students eventually leave in search of an art world armed mostly with good intentions. I have sympathy for the reasons for this but can’t deny that the fact. And if I see it, the auditors will see it soon too.
So what will save art? Us. We will save art. Art is healthier than the conservationists trying to prop it up realize. Art is everything Chat GPT isn’t; art is the last expression of true humanity. So if it hurts to hear that goodness and pity won’t save art in the face of imminent change, it should feel fucking awesome that our own broken, stumbling, eccentric humanity will. Art needs to be promising and generative and meaningful at a visceral level to survive. We need to make our world electrifying enough to attract interest away from other distractions rather than cry for help.
Pandas live because of conservation, rats live because they won’t be stopped, and dogs live because of both.
In the art world, we should be dogs.
