Analysis Of Indie Art: A Rebel To Popular Art

Indie Art: A Rebel to Popular Art

“Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable,” said an Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. Speaking of art cannot be separated with business in producing creative products—such as designs, music, film, books, and so on—which is known to be creative industry. Who does not recognize Harry Potter series, Titanic, or Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean? However, what about Reckoning: A Memoir by Magda Szubanski, Lost in Translation, or Arctic Monkeys’ Mardy Bum? The first three works are known as popular art, while the other three works are referred as independent art. Popular art or pop art is referred to those creative works that are widely known among people, while independent art or

Indie art was born in order to reject pop art ideology which embraces the idea that the success of art depends on its popularity. For example, British punk rock music emerged as resistance of capitalism celebrated in pop music in the 1950s. Moreover, the music became a new wave to protest British government for so many dead-end jobs and the country’s unstable economic situation in the period. With the growing of the subculture, many punk music came out with political motives. The Sex Pistols, for instance, was a band who criticized the capitalistic British government representing the lower classes in its heyday. They even created some songs that were banned in Britain radio due to their controversial lyrics. Similarly, pop art also plays role as a resistance of fine arts in high culture. Bored with limited audience scope of fine art and its lack of utility, pop artists aim to create unclear boundaries between ‘high art’ and ‘low art’ so that the art can be enjoyed by the mass (The Art Story, n.d). Pop artists also rejects fine art aesthetic by using daily life products reference, such as Coca Cola and soup cans in creating posters and sculptures. Warhol's iconic series of Campbell's Soup Cans posters, as an example, conveys art functions as mass-distributed advertisement. Roy Lichtenstein’s comic strip too is

According to Michael Z. Newman in his journal article Indie Culture: In Pursuit of the Authentic Autonomous Alternative, he observes two perceptions towards indie art. First, indie art is perceived as a counter-hegemony towards pop art because its artists see that mainstream culture degrades individual authenticity. Second, indie art can be seen as distinctions. It means indie art only offers an alternative taste for certain audience. (Newman, 2009). For example, indie folk music is created for folk music fans who do not find their favorite genre in pop music. In other words, indie art gives more authentic art to its audience who belongs to certain taste. An indie novel titled A Memoir by Magda Szubanski cannot be purchased anymore due to its limited publication. However, someone can easily find Suzanne Collin’s Hunger Games series or Stephani Meyer’s Twilight series in the nearest bookstore. Regarding this, according to Adorno’s criticism on mass culture, pop art as the product of mass culture is seen as unauthentic due to commodification of the art itself. Commodification here means the transformation of art as a commodity to be sold. Simply, pop art sees the production of art as a business. For example, Barbara Kruger’s poster I Shop there I am successfully expresses