Author: Weinstein, Richard S.

Publication Year: 1979

Media Type: Book

Summary:

Abstract:

Unnoticed until recently is the fact that the arts have always had an effect on the marketplace in this country. Previously, just as the development of commercial transactions in the was seen to be in the service of something higher - namely, a concept that would allow the maximum number of people to have the fullest life without interfering with the pursuit of happiness for others - the arts have historically been viewed as having an inherent value apart from any commercial transaction. Now, however, this additional role of art as significant to the American concept of the marketplace is being fully realized.

My argument is that the commercial mainstream is the essential organizing principle of the society we live in and that such organization was done basically for a value-oriented purpose. Thus, since the arts are obviously all about values, it follows that the integration of the arts and the commercial mainstream, rather than their separation, is something of great importance to our culture. In fact, that integration is one of the distinguishing characteristics of our culture.
(p. 72-73)

Arts & Intersections:

Categories: Creative Economies