In the context of Steve Lambert’s installation ‘ Does capitalism work for me? True/False ‘ many people were interviewed in Times square, NY and were asked to talk about their choices; whether capitalism works for them or not and why?
Among the answers a girl says : ”..the value system that the capitalistic model provides does not include the work that I do(theatre /art production). It doesn’t value it because it’s not a super profitable product or a product that can be bought and sold like a shirt can.’ [ https://vimeo.com/76527314 ]
The statement above seems absolutely reasonable. But it’s not totally true…
Art ,from its nature, is not a super profitable product. However capitalism forces it to become one and to a great extent it has achieved it. Capitalism has the power to transform artworks into high valued commodities and insert them into the same market system as everything else. It doesn’t value art until it becomes the super profitable product that capitalism requires and until it agrees to obey its rules.
So, does capitalism work for art? It certainly does. Especially for art that is designed to be produced within capitalism, under the market rules. For the art that capitalism itself created.
Anything outside of this capitalist realm cannot easily survive . Art that still owns its original value and refuses its monetary value becomes marginal. Not only capitalism does not work for it but it becomes its worse enemy too.
A(r)CT 