“The Future of Art and Branding” Image via Computer Love.
Art has some serious problems if its future, as declared by Computer Love, looks like this (picture above). The issue I have with the developing discussion of mixing of art and advertising isn’t that I don’t like the idea, it’s the willy nilly application of the term art to any mildly creative endeavor. Target’s recent ads for example, featuring over produced cheesy animated marble videos, and a paint off between street artists Mr. Jago and Kofie One are cheap productions targeted to audiences who think street art and computer animation are hip. They have little relationship to fine art, and yet there seem to be more than enough bloggers and brand strategists like Josh Spear, who are discussing the ads as though they blend two previously separate worlds. Street art may have a rich history of subversive acts, but you’ll notice those with real credibility, (Lady Pink for instance) haven’t been contracted by Target. And if this is the end product they’re looking for I can’t imagine she’d agree because there’s little distinction between street art like this and a brand name t-shirt.
As a side note to this post, one potentially dangerous aspect about the discussion of art entering the larger market of entertainment, is that nobody seems to be entertaining the possibility that consumer interest in the field could be a reversible trend. If it is a fad, it’d be nice to get a company like Target to commission an artist to do something more interesting for them than some animated bullseye.
