Visual Arts & the Curse of Elitism
A Think piece
Visual arts continues to struggle under its close connection to and dependency on elitism, and there seems to be no end to it.
Of all the arts, visual arts might be the most affected, seeking to be independent and critical; and yet the visual arts world relies on the rich. The reason for this dependency might lie in fine art’s end product, which unlike the performing arts, is an actual product, not an experience. Within visual arts, the buyer gets to own what the artist creates, rather than just to enjoy it.
Therefore, historically, visual artists, especially painters and sculptors, were employed or hired by those who could afford their products, creating a strong tie, which has now lasted for thousands of years. Already in Ancient Egypt the rich immortalized themselves employing artists to create murals and statues of them.
In addition to this, visual arts have a difficult time creating value in reproduction and repetition. This is another aspect where it differs from performing arts. While music and theater can be reproduced without losing their quality and monetary worth, the worth in visual arts is in its uniqueness, making the artist more dependent on the individual customer.
With the shift to modern art, one might expect this to have changed in the last century. One might think that as soon as artists split from the academies and the set rules of the art world, there would be a break from this elitism, but I dare to say what happened was actually the opposite. Before the birth of impressionism, art was made for the wealthy, but with impressionism, it was made for the wealthy and intellectual. Art became just as much about the visual as about the concept behind it, and to appreciate it, one needed to have, not only excess money but also the intellectual ability to understand what its meaning was. And so visual arts, that had been limited to the few, was now limited to the fewer, not the many.
This is not to blame the artists. It is the artist’s right to seek development in arts, to explore new techniques, and motifs.
The responsibility to educate about art lies with art institutions, who do not always take this responsibility seriously enough. Especially higher education within the art world continues to be incredulously expensive. Degrees, summer courses, and even online courses are priced in a way that makes it clear that there are two ways into the art world: either you are able to buy your way in or you are born into it. Modern, contemporary, and ultra-contemporary art is seen as complex, but that is because no one is willing to explain it.
Since the birth of impressionism, we can witness a continued separation of the visual arts from the “masses”. The visual arts market, including artists, auction houses, galleries, but especially collectors, lost touch with the reality of the many.
As art became broader due to inventions such as printing, photography, videography, and more, we see that becoming an artist becomes more “accessible”, making surviving as an artist even more difficult. Artists need to stand out more, to create something never seen before, which leads to ideas becoming more abstract. With the rise of contemporary and ultra-contemporary art, I believe we see what I call the “final divide”. The “common folk” ask themselves “Why is that art? Why is that art if I could do it too?” when looking at an artwork they do not understand, and the art world answers “But you didn’t do it”, making fun of the everyday person for not understanding something that was never explained.
Now we might enter the discussion of whether art needs to be understood or felt. The more abstract the concept, the more likely it needs an explanation. The art world cannot expect that someone who only had a public art education, if at all, would understand what Piet Mondrian was trying to convey with De Stijl. And even to “feel” art, you need to learn to let it create an impression. Someone who is a complete stranger to art does not understand how to approach art. The more abstract the art and the concept behind it, the more the viewer needs an explanation and the context. It is the art world’s task to provide that. It’s a task, not necessarily expected from the artists, but from the others in the art world, including museums, galleries, art fairs, and art magazines.
Especially galleries who claim to want to make art accessible, could be doing better. I often visit galleries, and see artworks displayed without even the artist’s names or possible artwork title. Sometimes, even the exhibition text does not help to understand what is being shown. To open a new door is frightening, but to open a door someone is keeping closed is impossible. Unless the art world starts to understand that it is their task to educate the public, it will continue being an exclusive little bubble. And artists will continue to depend on the system they critique.
There are attempts to break the bubble, sometimes the art world tries to criticize itself and become self-aware. It tries to become more accessible to the public, as it is the case with public art. Other times, instead of effectively criticizing itself, the art world ends up making a joke of itself…, as was the case with the “Comedian” by Maurizio Cattelan.
Maurizio Cattelan (1) is a conceptual artist, whose artwork “Comedian” consists of a banana taped to a wall. It came to be, because Cattelan was thinking about creating a banana-shaped sculpture and therefore often brought a banana with himself for inspiration. The artwork is not meant to be taken too seriously, hence the title, but it is supposed to make us question what constitutes an artwork, especially since it mainly consists of an everyday product. “Comedian” was originally sold for US$120.000 in 2019. The owners received the right to replace the banana whenever needed without the work losing its originality. At the time this already caused an outrage, but not quite like in 2024, when it was sold again during a Sotheby’s auction to Justin Sun, a Chinese collector.
What I hate about “Comedian” is not the artwork itself or the artist. I appreciate the way conceptual art makes us reconsider what art is. Is it my favourite kind? No. Do I think it’s beautiful? Depends. But I did think “Comedian” was funny, up until it sold for US$6,24 million (2), demonstrating how the art world and collectors are completely out of touch with reality. While 2.33 billion (3) people in the world suffer moderate or severe food insecurity, you are buying a banana for millions of dollars, because it represents a cultural phenomenon? Meme culture?
That’s not meme culture, that’s bad taste.
The irony was taken out of the artwork, and to the rest of the world the art world looked like a joke. The monetary value destroyed the conceptual value.
Now more than ever I believe we need art, not only because of its beauty but because of its ability to criticize and to reinvent. It makes us wonder, stimulates our thoughts, seek for what might not be obvious. It invites us to think critically. In a world filled with fake news, AI truths, algorithm-generated bubbles, it is critical that the wider population is able to think for themselves and art has always played a role in it because of its visual qualities. The art world must remember why art matters. Art exists because there is nothing more human than the urge to create, not to show who has the most money to spend or the most abstract intelligence.
As long as the art world does not burst its bubble, artists will continue to suffer, always searching for independence, and yet dependent on the elite. To effectively criticize the elite and to gain independence from it, the visual art world needs to become more connected to the public, and the first step to do so is to make art education more available and accessible.
And though this line of thought might have read as harsh criticism of the art world, it is meant as a love letter to visual arts. To be creative is to live. To seek art is to look for meaning. To love art is to be a human.
Sources (1) Jemma Amos. Comedian by Maurizio Cattelan: controversial postmodern artwork, Art de Vivre. Available under: https://artdevivre.com/articles/comedian-by-maurizioi-cattelan-controversial-postmodern-artwork/(2) Oscar Holland. Viral banana artwork has sold again — this time for $6.24 million, CNN. Available under: https://edition.cnn.com/style/duct-taped-banana-maurizio-cattelan-auction-hnk-intl#:~:text=Italian%20artist%20Maurizio%20Cattelan's%20%22Comedian,Sotheby's%20auction%20in%20New%20York.(3) United Nations. Global Issues, UN.org. Available under: https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/food#:~:text=Food%20security%20and%20nutrition%20situation,the%20malnutrition%20targets%20by%202030Pictures Artcollectornews.com. Available under: https://www.artcollectornews.com/post/maurizio-cattelans-comedian-a-symbol-a-question-a-provocation-a-banana