An insight into the High Art and Popular
Culture Debate
By
Michael Moor MA
Popular or rather Mass culture is identified and concerned with Entertainment
and Commercialisation, rather than intrinsic worth. Popular culture
tends to exploit or 'market' the arts. For example the performing art of
'Acting' is commercially exploited by the Film Industry (Hollywood is a good
example).
Hollywood tends to make films in response
to mass tastes in order to make a commercial return. Hence, particularly in recent years we have had 'sequels' to
any number of popular films, Lethal Weapon 1, 2, 3, 4, and so on.
These sequels were made not on 'artistic' merit but because of their
popularity with the public. It makes good financial sense to 'sell' a popular
product.
Popular
culture is clearly linked with mass industry and mechanical reproduction.
Performing Arts such as acting become part of the Entertainment Industry.
Music becomes a part of the mechanical reproduction industry selling
records, tapes, CD's etc. Art,
graphics and photography become an extension of the printing press and an 'arm'
of the Advertising Industry.
The
Affluent Society
The Popular Culture and High Art debate/
discussion only becomes relevant in the context of 'the affluent society'. (A term made famous by J.K Galbraith in
his 1958 book of the same name.) That is a society where (a) the 'conventional
notions' of poverty have been irradiated: and
(b) in a capitalist democracy.
The 'affluent society' within a
'democratic, free enterprise' system is central to understanding the concerns of
'High Art'. That is Art, which is
seen as having intrinsic worth. (Art that is for example, concerned with ideas
and communication. A good example
may be Michael Angelo's paintings for the ceilings of the Cestine Chapel.
These works were not painted to cater to 'public taste'.
Michael Angelo was not concerned 'entertaining' the congregation of the
Chapel. He was concerned with
form, content and the communication of ideas, in this case Christian
ideas, we can see the purpose of this work as educative and indeed the result of
viewing it as educative.
High Art differs from popular culture in
that it is often sponsored by a patron or produced on 'spec' by the 'artist' and
is not concerned with mass production (generally speaking)
High Art can be seen as positioning itself
on the 'outside' of society and as such reflects the 'avante garde' and other
'elitist' positions rather well. High Art, many would argue leads
while popular culture is more likely to follow
trends.
However in practice both popular culture
and High Art are interdependent and at present it seems that they are becoming
almost indistinguishable at times.
I would suggest however that a
philosophical difference remains Despite
the shifting debate about what is or is not High Art or Popular Culture the concerns
of the two remain very different.
High Art is concerned that the involvement
of commerce in the production of Art is not for the
edification of the population but for the profit of commerce. Since the 1960's
there has been a particular concern about the use of 'art' in the
Advertising Industry, which many in the sphere of High Art would consider immoral.
On the other hand Popular Culture tends to
criticise High Art because it is elitist and artificial and often non
responsive or reflective of the popular mood. This position was strongly
put forward in the 1960's by a group of critics associated with the American
publication PARTISAN REVIEW (SUSAN
SONTAG, Richard Poirier). This group of critics became advocates of the 'New
Sensibility'. They argued at the time that the music of the Beatles and the
Rolling Stones was as important as that of classical musicians such as Schonberg
for its evocation of popular responses.
To some extent we can suggest that popular
culture is in fact in support of High Art. It has been suggested by
sociologists such as Edward Shils that mass production and mass exposure to
'art' has 'upgraded' public taste. Many purists would disagree ….
the debate goes on and is further complicated by the new media and
digital technology.