Love or Money
Yesenia (yessie) Williams
9/7/2015
Hybrid Assignment 2
In Astra Taylor’s chapter “Love or Money”, she discusses the way artists view their work and for what purpose it serves. The reason artists produce art and how they are truly compensated for their artistry, is a question that still is debatable. Taylor argues that artists seek to feed both their creative souls, as well as, put food on the table and have money to live. The ongoing struggle of producing art only puts into focus “the demands of the gift and the market”. (pg. 50) The hope is that eventually the work they produce will be recognized while keeping their creativity and job enjoyable. Taylor discusses how often the assumption that enjoying your job “does not by definition qualify as labor” (Pg. 51) For this reason, many artists today have to decide what it means to remain true to their craft while possibly sacrificing it to be paid.
The fate that creative people hold in the new economy is in fact between two realms as Taylor describes. To be torn “on one side, the purely economic activity, and on the other, the fundamentally different, elevated form of value we associate with art and culture.” (pg. 50) This challenges artists, for example, musicians, who work and are faced with the decisions that will ultimately force them to either one, sacrifice their creativity to fit into the mainstream music production culture, or be continuing to make their music but possibly not “make it”. The notion that artists are all “starving artists” still remains to be a true view. Often times, artists are struggling to make ends meet and find themselves picking up other odd jobs to compensate for the lack of income associated with pursuing a field of artistry.
The economy is connected to art in the way that it is promoted. Taylor sees it as a producing system that’s only concern is profit through heavy advertising. The value placed on art and culture has been lessened by the all-encompassing desire to be recognized, even if the cost is selling themselves short of their deserved reward.The Internet is contrived to service the advertisers who are paying for specific services, which makes one question, how is creativity truly being expressed?
