A contradiction or a misinterpretation?
Eric Smith- Art or Commodity? Whatever--
I must be confused in trying to discern high art from consumer commodity as Dave Hickey claims there is a recognizable difference. Now, many will argue that perhaps a rare car like a Lamborghini is a form of functional art, as it is a highly desired object showcasing the talents and ingenuity of its design team, nonetheless, it does not constitute high art. But if a particularly desirable model of a car has been placed into the market in limited supply, it still acts out as any other form of desired art regardless of whether I or others regard a car as art. Dave Hickey expounds on this idea that cars represent a form of art: “In the beginning was the Car, and the Car was with Art, and the Car was Art” (61). To the few in our classroom who have argued that something is not necessarily art (or good art) if it resembles too much of popular culture, this statement may seem a bit strange. But as a young kid growing up in the privileged locality of the famed Napa Valley vineyards, I saw many a gorgeous manifestations of art residing in the form of automobiles. To me, they were, and are still, when in existing in short supply, genuine art forms and not just mass-produced, commercial items. So as the automobile companies act as art dealers in phasing out old designs for new ones, and allowing consumers to advance up chains of privilege with each improved aesthetic, there really isn’t much difference from art and commodity…cars are art commodities with utility. It is all a matter of how the public ascribes value to objects that places them in such linguistic frameworks of art, or of simple commodity. However, if any one can buy a particular object, it loses its ability to accrue more value.
What I am suggesting is that in this world of business related minds, art and money are intertwined. One cannot do art readily without spending some kind of money, unless one is a thief or a complete bum! Walking, talking, and breathing require bodily energy and food is not free, and few have I seen hunting down insects or animals to survive! Hickey seems to contradict earlier claims that cars represent art when he states: “Art is not a commodity,” yet a car seems very much a commodity to me (108). Perhaps I am misunderstanding what Hickey means by commodity because I understand it to mean something that is traded or something that has some kind of utility. After all, does the corn industry not market their product so that it holds some kind of value, just as the automobile industry does its products? People do not need corn per se, but I think people do need art for mental well-being, even if it is only the art that Nature provides. So, confused as I am with the linguistical ramblings of Hickey, despite finding the writing overwhelmingly compelling, I find myself wonder what all of it means. Does he mean to say that art does not uphold its value because it is not as necessary as say, corn or transportation service? In addition, he goes on to state that, “Art and money never touch,” as if they literally exist in two different universes. When he explains that “the issuing institution or individual can never guarantee the value of art or money sent forth into the world [because] it must be sustained through investments by complex constituencies of individuals, public institutions, and private corporations,” I feel like pulling every nickel I own from the bank and starting a self-sustaining farm…but shit, I can’t purchase the land without a creditor (110)! Perhaps I am taking these lines a bit out of context, but this is the kind of thought process that begins circulating through my head when reading Hickey. He is right after all,…nobody can truly count on any thing this world gives to remain intact forever. Perhaps in 100 years, nobody will find any value in the arts of Earth as humanity discovers how to pass into alternate frames of existence and the speed of communication exchange render recent history useless.
Disclaimer: I had to reset my account to log-on in the forum…a bit late here.
