A brief history of why artists are no longer making a living making music

Re:A brief history of why artists are no longer making a liv... by pmoriarty on Thursday March 21, 2019 @11:03PM (#19459300)

"when I say I art I'm talking music, paining, sculpture, etc. Things that only have aesthetic use, not functional use."

Painting, sculpture, and music have had functional uses since forever.

They had functions such as:

  - reminding people of what happened in the past
  - teaching people moral lessons
  - exulting or placating gods
  - inspiring troops to be braver in combat
  - honoring the dead
  - letting people see things they couldn't see in person
  - training doctors and scientists
  - providing propaganda for rulers or religious organizations
  - inspiring people towards revolution or to right various wrongs

and on, and on, and on.

Only relatively recently has the idea become popular that art should be divorced from function, placed in museums or galleries, and be appreciated merely for its aesthetic value alone.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:A brief history of why artists are no longer making a liv... by pygy_ on Friday March 22, 2019 @07:30AM (#19461506)

The classical arts used to be the vectors of vital cultural information (music, poetry and story telling are mnemonic techniques).

We then invented writing which made those media mostly obsolete.

We're still drawn to those disciplines though, because they provided an evolutionary advantage for a long time, making the trait of liking those things quite stable (since pleasure leads to practice, and practice leads to skill).

The same goes for gossiping and superstition.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:A brief history of why artists are no longer making a liv... by meheleventyone on Friday March 22, 2019 @03:45AM (#19460323)

Also if you look at the kind of art that is actually just appreciated on aesthetics alone now it’s actually pretty derivative. It’s the sort of stuff you’ll find artists painting in bulk to sell in order to support themselves. Most art that gets put up for public consumption has some function beyond mere aesthetic appreciation. It’s usually about something.

[ Parent | on HN ]