Do Starving Artists Actually Exist?

Is art made by the elite for the elite? What happens to the few struggling artists who make it big, get representation, and begin to sell their work? Are they now considered in cahoots with the elite and therefore does their art change with their status?

I think so.

Because from my point of view, the vast majority of people who maintain lasting careers in the art world are already financially well off or taken care of by their parents (well into adulthood), or end up having successful spouses; whatever the story is, it seems like the only art that matters is the art that sells. But we know from history that that isn’t true. So why still monetize it to the extreme like it’s saving the world? What’s it all for?

From where I stand, the art world is the size of a pin head trying to act like it knows the world best. Art and the people who create it build such a weird intersection with the people who consume it. Everyone seems to miss the point. The value of art is not in how it looks in a space or how much education the artist has (and in turn how much their work is allowed to cost), but how it reflects back 10, 50, 100 years later. It's ability to speak universal truths. Take The Fountain by Marcel Duchamp, I feel like a broken record saying the same thing a century later. It seems as though what most contemporary artwork will say in 100 years is “the artist who made this spent thousands of dollars to be able to charge thousands of dollars for paintings about personal memory to hang in the 1%’s dining room in just the right light.”

But if art isn’t for sale... and simply its place in the canon of art history isn’t enough, then what else is it for?

There is a fine line between kitschy objects that live in your home or business and thoughtful, smart, intentional pieces of art. But where is the line in monetizing it? Are we monetizing the item, the materials, the idea? All of it? Because the fact that art is important remains...but is all art important? What makes it important? And what are we paying for; because the current bill of sale reads as cost of materials + masters degree = value; and this is the quickest way to cheapen history.