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art not valued?

ok, i was thinking. is art not really valued in the US as a legitimate form of expression? not that im thinking about quitting, i just want opinions.

In one sense, yes -- In the U.S. fine art has been extremely de-emphasized, which I think goes hand in hand with diminished art education in schools, a poor economy (people focus on the 'essentials' -- art's seen as a luxury) and what I believe is a growing anti-intellectual sentiment. Until fairly recently, intellectual pursuits like art were respected, now by many they are frequently looked upon with suspicion or the people who engage in them are often seen as disconnected or 'elitist'.

However on a personal level, when I say that I'm an artist or when I have some of my work around, the people I encounter show a lot of interest and seem to value or admire artistic skill.

So it's a tough question to answer.

I still think it's a legitimate form of expression; it's all around you. Business may be a different story. For fine art gallery artists, I would agree with Loba. It's a hard business to get into, and when you do it can still be difficult to make plenty money off of it which is why people have a stigma towards it. But I do still consider it an honorable profession, so if it's something your are passionate about you should go for it.

Fine artists generally do better if they are trying to say something with their work, which of course explains why so much of that goes on. You can become a pundit and be fairly popular doing that.

Aside from fine art, I think artists in general are still thought pretty highly of, especially in entertainment and advertising.

Ken Robinson gave a great talk on education and creativity: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html He talks a bit about art education in schools, so that might be something you'll be interested in. It's a great talk either way and relevant to this discussion.

mestys, I heard the talk. it was wonderful!

Yes, what he says is very true. I really wanna watch more of him now. ^^

Metsys that talk was really funny, and so so true. I totally felt the pressure from family and teachers toward math and science. The end result of that was a computer science degree and a job that pays really well that I can barely tolerate.

Agreed mostly with what North said, but also part of it could also be the economy. I'm not usually one to blame my own monetary setbacks on the economy but the truth of the matter is, the market for fine art, that is, paintings that serves few purposes other than to be collected, enjoyed, and traded, has fallen out of favor because people no longer have the disposable income they may once have had.

I personally enjoy collecting art that has a dual purpose. If there's a fine art piece I like, I get it on a mug or a magnet, as I don't have the space or the money to spend on prints or have simply wall art.

I think making fine art that could also be printed on bags and t-shirts, etc is a good way of countering this trend.

Yea, and speaking of genre you also have to think what type of art you're drawing as well. If you're talking about graphic novels/comics (same quality to me though I think graphic novels are thicker than a comic book) I think that has actually enjoyed a LOT more attention the past few years than before.

In terms of fine art, that I feel IS a niche market.

As for printing stuff onto mugs, I'm not against merchandising but I think having original art crafted on items trumps printed stuff only because we've seen an explosion of mugs and t-shirts thanks to cafe press.

Now STICKERS on the other hand, custom die cut and trimmed would be awesome :)

For art nowadays, it's always about thinking out of the box or being very good at doing something if you prefer to stay in the box.

ie. being an awesome concept artist

I never have encountered people in North America feeling art isn't a valid form of expression.
Honestly when I moved to USA I noticed more people willing to spend money on art than I did in Canada.
Go figure I paint historic New England, West Coast Canadians don't care about East Coast forests/historical scenes. :P

But if all you paint is furry or a certain genre you can’t expect everyone to value that form of expression, same goes for any genre in art, so maybe it’s not necessarily art on a whole but you are reaching the wrong people.

Since you show me abstract and it has LITTLE value to me but I fancy I value art very highly, just not that type of art! ;)

I think there is another element in that "Fine Art" in the US< especially post WW2, moved into a form only discussed and appreciated by Cultural Elites, and therefor moved out of the mainstream, where it impacted people's lives. Music is an art, and though I love Classical Music, it's rarefied, now with expensive tickets and appropriate costume for the concert. The same could be said of a Rock Show as well, but in that case, it's not about decorum but participation with the crowd. But there is art out there that people do love and buy, but it has nothing to do with the Fine Art crowd, which like Modern Jazz is seen as "good" if it is difficult, nearly impossible to interpret, and needing "critics" to do that interpretation to tell one what is good, BECAUSE of it's difficulty. But the art people Buy are things that are considered Kitsch by the fine art world, things like Posters, Comic books, Popular Music, Ceramic dishes, Humorous Craft Items found on a roadside stand or gas station far from home. Art is still out there, but as a cultural motivator only music, and Film seem to still have any power to do so.

Scott

I think art is still valued but it depends on what it is and where you are. People will always want/need artists whether they think so or not. The key to marketing it is to be unique and be really good at what you do. The economy being on the fritz is a major drawback to many people for buying art too.
Much of the time though people will encourage anyone who is looking to get into art, to go for a degree that does not revolve around it, and then have a minor in art if anything at all. That is just from what I have observed.

Art seems to be valued in a business format... graphic design is a very respectable job where fine art is neglected most places. We're such a capitalist country, what sells is what's valuable.

That doesn't mean we all have to CONFORM though! Not entirely, anyway, just enough to get by.