Stephanie Taylor and Karen Littleton's "Art Work or Money: Conflicts in the Construction of a Creative Identity," The Sociological Review, Vol. 56, No. 2, 2008, pp. 275-92.
Taylor and Littleton open the discussion by referring to Angela McRobbie's research findings that "in the contemporary cultural industries in the UK, a new understanding of the connection between creative work and money has replaced past 'anti-commercial' notions." However, Taylor and Littleton mention, as "critics point out that many creative workers have very limited job security ad are low-paid or even unpaid," (p. 276) the conventional art-versus-money repertoires persists. According to McRobbie again, "it is not an exceptional circumstance but normal that creative practitioners in the UK's cultural industries cannot earn a living" and "in the highly competitive, de-regulated working environment of 'the cultural sector' where most workers are 'freelance, casualized and project-linked persons', many people connive in their own 'self-exploitation' as they pursue self-actualization." (p. 277)
Their analysis reveals, however, that on the one hand "art and money-making are discussed as incompatible and even directly opposed." In this respect, I am inclined to say creative or art work is simply not as lucrative as outsiders think. On the other, "money validates the creative work" "as if 'good' art would logically carry a high monetary value." (p. 280). Seriously, in the commercial world, "good" product does not guarantee good sales and in the same way bestselling goods is not necessarily good products.
Investigating the subjects who are postgraduates in Art and Design, Taylor and Littleton propose three types of repertories, first being art-versus-money, second money-as validation, and last but not least, sense-and-responsibility. Below are some interview extracts from two postgraduates.
An interviewee, who has been teaching part-time and continuing her art work at the same time said, "there's probably not very many other professions where you become so skilled little reward at the end of it...you have to accept that as a fine artist you gonna get paid peanuts...I'm not under any illusions that I'll earn money out of my art work...if you're not losing money you're successful" (p. 282-3)
Another interviewee said: "the course leader said to us you know expect it would be nice to just make your work and have it um break even...so I'm not under any illusions that...it's going to be my only kind of income." (p. 285)
No comments:
Post a Comment