Can Manufactured Bands Ever be Classified as 'Good' Art? The Effect of the Market on the Construction of Music
Introduction
Manufactured bands now make up a major percentage of chart music today, not least of them Take That, Boyzone, Bad Boys inc., East 17 and other all-boy pop bands. In this essay I would like to discuss how the standard of art has been lowered by the capitalistic system of the music industry, using a specific example - "Upside Down", which is maybe the latest addition to this genre of music. By this genre of music, I mean the all-boy bands which have been specifically manufactured and targeted at the 'teenybopper' age class (and also the gay market?).
Personal Opinions
To argue that this form of art is 'bad' art, one must have a reference point - a set of values by which to judge. This is almost always a personal opinion, and I would first of all like to explain my personal opinion.
I believe that 'good' art has something to offer to the individual perceiver, be it painting, book, film, dance or music. These are all different forms of art, but one thing binds them all together - the fact that they are creations, created and crafted to the personal specifications of the artist.
This makes the product original.
Two values by which I judge music are creativity and originality. I believe that good art provides 'food for thought' - that special something which, after the tape has finished, after leaving the cinema or closing a book, leaves an 'aftertaste' - something to think about, be it, 'how did he/she play that' or,
'what was he/she trying to say with that piece,' the list goes on.
Basic Market Analysis
For the purposes of this essay, I want to split marketing into two general strategies. The first of these is where the designers make a "product" to their own specifications and then look to see where and how they will be able to sell it in the overall market. The second strategy is the opposite of the first - the designers examine the general market, target a certain area and tailor make a product to fit this area exactly.
The latter of these strategies is the one employed when a band is going to be manufactured. The designers have studied the market and worked out what they think they can sell a certain group of consumers.
Hirschman's 'three market segments' model (see figure 1) can be used to explain which type of bands fall into which category. The first segment is titled "Self-orientated Creativity.
A lot of people might be doubtful that art has much power to make the world a better place. If you asked they would probably summarize art as scribbles or
universally recognized form of art and has been said that it is the only real
...he essence of a grief-stricken generation, exhibited an unyielding emphasis on the importance of piercing passion over musical intricacy, and introduced the world to a vast array of gifted musicians who did not deem music as a tool to achieve recognition or financial stability. In turn, the decades that followed the rise of alternative rock have been inundated with so-called musicians whose main goal has been to get their faces plastered on magazine covers and achieve maximum public exposure, rather than devoting themselves to their craft. Consequently, the world has been left with nothing but an endless parade of shocking behavior, skimpy outfits, and mediocre music. Unfortunately, if the current state of affairs is any hint of what the future holds for music audiences, the magic generated by the nineties alternative rock will not be matched in years to come.
Art has been around for as long as humanity has existed, and it is much more than just drawings or paintings. Art is what every a person makes of it. Art can be drawings, paintings, writings, or even dancing, but never is it contained to just one of those things. As we explore just two aspect of art it is important to realize that there is no right or wrong way to look at the art. Art comes in many different forms, in which they are all interpreted a little differently by different people. For me, when I read a poem I do not instantly know what the poet is trying to say and I don’t find it as interesting, but when I look at a painting so many more thoughts comes and I can’t help by imagine what that artist was thinking while he was painting.
In this day and age, pop music dominates the airwaves at every turn. Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Kanye West, and many are commonplace names among teenagers and younger demographics not only in the United States, but all around the world. The United States has accepted the position of international, cultural role model long ago, dating back to the 1950’s when rock and roll caught fire as a hybrid of blues, country, and jazz and spread to the rest of the world almost infectiously. Since then, every major artist that comes out of the United States has easily become a global icon, regardless of the language or nationality of their adoring fans. However, one could conceive that this glamorized version of music comes less from the soul of the artist and is merely born of fiscal ambitions and visions of grandeur. The point made previously is not to critique any pop icon’s talent, which clearly they have proved to possess an abundance of it to keep the public swooning at their every whim, but instead, to show that there are musicians out there producing beautiful music without the threat of corruption and adherence to mainstream culture.
In this essay I will be discussing what, in my own opinion, makes good art. To justify what I consider to be a good standard of art, I will be analyzing the work of French symbolist Eugene Carriere and contrasting this with artwork I consider to not be 'good art'.
Pop. Traditional. Classical. These are all genres of music. These all serve a purpose. These are all important. Pop music has been used to help inform and motivate the general public during movements like environmental protection and gay rights. Traditional music has helped to guide us by telling us stories of the past from the church to the fields. Classical music has been played for royalty and help dancers spin a story. Some can be considered art while others can’t, but it often differs because the definition of art is in constant motion. The definition of art is a subject philosopher’s debate because it can be defined strictly or loosely. For the purpose of this essay, let art be defined as anything that can be touched or heard, and it causes a mental and physical reaction. Classical music is truly an art form because it invokes a mental and physical reaction from both the audience and the performers, and it has contrast to make it more dynamic.
This paper deals, in broadest terms, with the questions of how artwork is connected to the changes and dynamics that prevail in a society. To describe these changes, I will investigate how a specific type of art reflects its social content in contemporary societies. My analysis is carried out by closely looking at the Pop Art movement, especially with Andy Warhol, who has come to be known as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. It will be argued that Pop Art managed to successfully articulate its time, and in so doing, it became a widely influential art movement whose effect is still very much existent in today’s world of art. In order to prove its claim, this paper relies on the theory of “the field of cultural production” by Pierre
see them. Can some writers go over the top and do too much? Or not do
Pop culture is evident in all aspects of American society but one of the greatest influences is seen in music. Music has evolved so much since the time of the great singers like Elvis and the Beatles. This change can be attributed to advancements in technology but, in some cases, what appears to be growth has become nothing but a lack of talent and dependence on machines and a naïve American people. Many of these artists achieve their fame because of their outward appearance-usually after cosmetic surgery-and the machines that generate their voices. In his essay titled “The Soundtracking of America,” J. Bottum agrees that “western pop songs make us ‘forcibly retarded,’ because they’re so shallow and because we’re compelled to hear the same ones over and over again.” Radio stations only play the so-called “pop” songs and, therefore, we, as a culture, are subjected and even forced to like these often obnoxious tunes. The songs rarely have any merit but are supported ...
...ything fits together and disunity is the opposite, it’s a feeling of disorder. In art, unity is often achieved by the repetition of a shape, colour or another visual element. Simplicity is another method and it’s the use of one major colour, kind of shape or element to unify a work. Another technique is harmony where related colours, textures, and materials might be combined. Theme and variation is another method that allows artists to organize a work around one major element like a circle, and variations of circles. Works are sometimes unified by proximity or continuity. Proximity means that parts are grouped together, enclosed or clustered into sets. Continuity means that edges of forms are lined up so your eye moves from one part to another in a definite order. Variety is like a spice in art and it is the use of contrasting elements to make something interesting.
Societies consist of several diverse elements, which are significant in the advancement of social notions. One of those key elements is media. In today’s society we approach countless varieties of media that are constantly influencing the way individuals live their lives. Consuming media on a daily basis has an immense effect on the way people view things within society. A source of media that tends to dominate our daily lives is music. Music is currently presented within every aspect of our lives and has become a commodity more than a cultural aspect. It is existent in every occasion with a variety of genres. It has now become available everywhere at any time of day. With music being such a big commodity in today’s society, popular music developed. Popular music is based upon what is appealing to most individuals throughout society, which is determined by a scale of activity such as music charts. It is considered as a key cultural expression that highlights the attitudes of personalities (Joan Serrà, 2012).
In popular entertainment, if not in literature, yesterday's avant garde is often tomorrow's mainstream, so the term can function as a label simply identifying the next trend. As the American poet John Ashbery pointed out in an influential 1968 essay on the nature of the avant garde, where once an innovative artist had to wait a whole career to see their work absorbed into m...
In her book, Tiziana Andina states that family resemblance offers a good way to distinguish art from non- art without the need to rely upon a definition (107). The family resemblance theory allows for a wide variety of pieces, none of which have identical properties, to still be considered as artwork. There are major differences between classical art and the modern, contemporary art. However, both are still considered art. Art is comprised of an array of disciplines. The various forms of Art (as of today) include Fine Arts, Visual Arts, Decorative Arts, Applied Arts, Design, Crafts, and Performing Arts, etc. (“Meaning and Definition of Art”). Although none of the forms of Art require the exact same skill set to partake in, all of them require skills that are in common with some of the other
time period, social and political conditions, and other critiques just to name a few. All of these facts can be research and then applied to the artwork critique. This prior information can be used to help clarify certain aspects and create a deeper understanding of the artwork.