Obey Your Thirst
When I was in Africa a few years back I saw a billboard that reminded me why I need to carry my camera with me more often. It looked like your everyday Sprite advertisement--green bottle, slogan, all larger than life--but, underneath the green bottle wasn't a picture of Kobe Bryant, or Lebron James, just these words.
"Want to succeed in life? Drink Sprite." I didn't know if I should laugh, or borrow an axe and chop it to pieces. I didn't do either, in fact, I didn't do anything. Really, what can you do when marketing hijacks art?
"But a picture of a Sprite bottle is hardly art," I can hear you say to me. And you'd be right. It's not art. "Then why bring it up?" I hear you ask. I bring it up because revealed in that billboard is the essence of marketing. We have learned to have so much fun with marketing--as many of us watch the superbowl for commercials as to see the game--we forget that its essence is deceit. The slogan on the billboard had nothing to do with the product being sold. It was meant to take advantage of the anxiety we feel. Don't get me wrong. It's not a bad thing to obey your thirst, it will often lead you to meaning. But even when we buy their product, even if we drink it, we find it doesn't really satisfy. Not the way we wish it would.
So, what do we do with that anxiety? If we can't buy our way out of it, how do we exchange it for meaning? For starters, you can put down your remote, stop channel surfing and pick up your paintbrush, or camera, or microphone. Art has the power to save us from that anxiety, marketing only has the power to make us spend.
"You really think art has power?" I hear you ask. Well, art is a bottomless well, always has been. It has been there in every generation, in every period of history to help bring us back from the brink, to quench the deepest thirst. When we create, we reveal a divine playfulness that draws us toward something more deeply human. That is the power of art. It re-humanizes us, it reawakens meaning in our lives. And the beauty of art is that there is even more re-humanizing power when we share it.
Often when we think of art, it's as a painting or a poem, but art is so much more than just works of art. It's a way of life, a way of living. When we reawaken the parts of us that play and create, not only do we produce works of art, but our everyday, mundane existence becomes art--we become living works of art. Art has this power because the essence of art is the revealing of truth, and it is that revealing that gives art the power to save.
So, back to the earlier questions. What can we do when art is hijacked? And what do we do with the anxiety we feel? Same answer to both questions. Ultimately, I'm glad I didn't chop down that billboard. Since then I've learned that creating is a more powerful form of change than destroying. But, on to the answer. I've got just two words for you. Create. Share.
There's power in art, there's even more when we share it.
"Want to succeed in life? Drink Sprite." I didn't know if I should laugh, or borrow an axe and chop it to pieces. I didn't do either, in fact, I didn't do anything. Really, what can you do when marketing hijacks art?
"But a picture of a Sprite bottle is hardly art," I can hear you say to me. And you'd be right. It's not art. "Then why bring it up?" I hear you ask. I bring it up because revealed in that billboard is the essence of marketing. We have learned to have so much fun with marketing--as many of us watch the superbowl for commercials as to see the game--we forget that its essence is deceit. The slogan on the billboard had nothing to do with the product being sold. It was meant to take advantage of the anxiety we feel. Don't get me wrong. It's not a bad thing to obey your thirst, it will often lead you to meaning. But even when we buy their product, even if we drink it, we find it doesn't really satisfy. Not the way we wish it would.
So, what do we do with that anxiety? If we can't buy our way out of it, how do we exchange it for meaning? For starters, you can put down your remote, stop channel surfing and pick up your paintbrush, or camera, or microphone. Art has the power to save us from that anxiety, marketing only has the power to make us spend.
"You really think art has power?" I hear you ask. Well, art is a bottomless well, always has been. It has been there in every generation, in every period of history to help bring us back from the brink, to quench the deepest thirst. When we create, we reveal a divine playfulness that draws us toward something more deeply human. That is the power of art. It re-humanizes us, it reawakens meaning in our lives. And the beauty of art is that there is even more re-humanizing power when we share it.
Often when we think of art, it's as a painting or a poem, but art is so much more than just works of art. It's a way of life, a way of living. When we reawaken the parts of us that play and create, not only do we produce works of art, but our everyday, mundane existence becomes art--we become living works of art. Art has this power because the essence of art is the revealing of truth, and it is that revealing that gives art the power to save.
So, back to the earlier questions. What can we do when art is hijacked? And what do we do with the anxiety we feel? Same answer to both questions. Ultimately, I'm glad I didn't chop down that billboard. Since then I've learned that creating is a more powerful form of change than destroying. But, on to the answer. I've got just two words for you. Create. Share.
There's power in art, there's even more when we share it.
Labels: Anxiety, Art, Creativity, Marketing
posted by King Rupert at 11:21 PM
3 Comments:
I liked your thoughts on art and anxiety. Who doesn't have anxiety issues in our time? It is sad that our culture is so achievement oriented, because I think it contributes to a generally held view that art is a waste of time, or that it is something for children to do, but not adults. As you point out, self expression is good for everyone, relieving anxiety and bringing us closer to our true selves. There were some interesting thoughts in here about the power of art to save. I would like to hear more about that. I look forward to your next post!
Very interesting and well written. Your brother was right. Way to appeal to the mass market with your writing. :) Way to alter your writing to appeal to the mass market. :) the irony really eh?
And isn't that really what marketing is all about. Using art in a twisted way to make people feel complete. This $350 dollar L.A.M.B. sweater is going to make you cool, artsy. and noticed, but just different enough.
Or look at the absolute vodka ads. are those art or marketing. or both.
i think the addictions that a country has say a lot about it. our country is addicted to fast food, spending and caffeine. and go drink on the weekends. What message is that sending to us. eat fast, spend money to be cool and drink caffeine so you can stay awake longer to go to work earlier and make more money to buy stuff to feel cool, artsy and just different enough. then numb yourself on the weekend witha drink so you can survive until the next work week.
we've made the things that let us be artsy and/or ourselves illeagal. like building without a permit, nudity, and pot and mushrooms. i know, i sound like a hippy.
You hit the nail on the head with "marketing...its essence is deceit". I think art and honesty go together; in fact, I think dishonest art is a logical impossibility. So, not only is our society short on art, we are very short on honesty. Honesty about who we are, what we want...
For me, my lifetime goal is to be honest with myself and the world. My art, whatever it may turn out to be, can only stem from that.
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