Art and the Economy - Hit or Miss!

John Powell is a Jamaican artist who I met through my guest blogging on Absolute Arts. It is a wonderful by-product of being involved with the Internet that we get to meet people from just about anywhere. Though we have never met, I consider him a friend and appreciate the efforts he has put into not only creating a body of work, but prodigiously promoting it. He hasn't let living in a Caribbean island nation keep him from being in touch with collectors and others who can help him grow his stature as an artist.

John turned guest blogger himself on Absolute Arts in the April 25 slot. His topic was titled the same as the subject of this post. In his article, Art and the Economy - Hit or Miss!, he makes some very insightful and thought provoking comments about how art is an accurate predictor of the economy. To his mind, more so than Wall Street. I commend you to read it.

I had this to say about his comments:

John,

You make an eloquent and erudite point about art and its importance on many levels. Art teaches us, it provokes us, it touches emotions and expresses them visually when words fail us.

I don't have a timeline on art and the economy through the ages. But, I sense your instincts and perceptions regarding it are valid, perhaps now more than ever. Whatever the case, I agree art is a leading factor and those who know how to interpret what it is saying stand to benefit from it.

In their day, the Impressionists were reviled for breaking tradition of realistic and allegorical paintings. Their work foretold the huge changes about to unravel in the early 20th Century. Their loose interpretation was a maverick style unacceptable to the art cognoscenti of the day. But, it was a response to the coming machine age of mass made products and marvelous inventions that transformed daily lives.

The Impressionists' lives and work straddled the period of horse and buggy to the introduction of motor cars, electricity in homes and assembly lines. I think it was a revolt against the past hidebound way of creating art and it was a statement against the uniformity that machines and mass production brought on.

I'm neither steeped nor astute enough on the world art scene to dissemble what artists are attempting to tell us today. My guess it would be that as world citizens we need more than ever to find ways to live in harmony with each other and with our environment. Certainly, your country's most famous artist, Bob Marley, was an early adopter of such a philosophy. And, what a profound effect his work has made around the globe.

Thanks for writing such an insightful and thought provoking article!