Art Is Not A Luxury by Catharine Bramkamp
Let’s welcome back monthly columnist Catharine Bramkamp as she shares with us “Art Is Not A Luxury.” Enjoy!
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Art Is Not a Luxury explores how creativity became elite — and why making art remains essential to human flourishing and freedom.
“Creativity belongs to the artist in each of us. To create means to relate. The root meaning of the word art is “to fit together” and we all do this every day. Not all of us are painters, but we are all artists. Each time we fit things together we are creating–whether it is to make a loaf of bread, a child, a day.” — Corita Kent, American artist and designer
The Question: Is Art a Luxury?
As I created this idea of Art as our second act, I was asked, “But isn’t Art a luxury?”
It is now.
It didn’t use to be.
How Art Became Exclusive
In the US, two centuries of rampant industrial growth, organized and championed by the very few who profited from the grinding work of the many (that last sentence wears a Marxist hat), the art impulse, native to humans, was discouraged, vilified and finally, reserved for only the few.
Why?
When your goal is to make sure every worker is productive for as long as possible, art making is defined as a waste of time.
Any activity that does not produce income is wasted time.
Playing an instrument doesn’t make money.
But downloading music does.
When the Wealthy Claimed the Arts
In the mid-19th century, the last time the gap between the rich and poor was as wide as it is today, the very wealthy wanted art — theater, opera, dance, visual arts — all to themselves.
Art was purposefully elevated so high that it was unreachable to the masses.
Theater: From Participation to Policing
Theater is a good example.
To keep commoners away from “their” theaters, the wealthy created strict attendance rules.
In order to appreciate opera, you must follow an expensive dress code, adhere to behavior rules and pop for ruinously expensive tickets.
Oh, and be quiet.
There were many rules about noise.
The thing was, noise had always been part of the theatrical experience.
During a performance in the Greek Theater, the audience was expected and encouraged to take part in the show.
They yelled out helpful information to the actors, they booed, they cheered and behaved as if a Euripides play was a stock car race.
No one knows if Greeks dressed in opera capes.
Drawing the Line Between Art and Entertainment
During the 19th century, the elite worked very hard to drive a wedge between art and entertainment.
The parameters were made very clear: Art was passive, quiet, and dignified.
Entertainment was loud, raucous, and participatory.
Want to make a living as an artist?
Cater to the wealthy and adhere to their definitions and codes.
Skip the landscapes, you’ll pay your rent creating beautiful portraits of rich matrons (and yes, the artist painted those ladies lovelier and thinner.)
You played classical music even if your heart was with jigs and later, jazz.
Shakespeare was staged to be dignified, it was not raucous, it demanded education and lectures.
The uneducated need not attend.
Until they did.
We often think of Shakespeare plays as the tedious section in Sophomore English.
But in the recent past, Shakespeare was a thing (to paraphrase 250 years of scholarship.)
He was the play, and many people were players.
And rioters.
When Shakespeare Sparked a Riot
In 1849, two popular actors, William Macready and Edwin Forrest were booked to perform in downtown New York City on the same night, in the same play, MacBeth.
Macready was British with a subdued, elegant style.
He was hired to perform at the newly built Astor Place Opera House, an exclusive theater that enforced all the above rules and few made up on the spot.
Forrest, equally popular, was famous for his emotional and expressive interpretations (some say histrionics.)
Forrest was booked to perform in a theater just down the street from the new Opera House.
His audience was less inclined to invest in top hats and tails.
It was like pitting the Def Leppard comeback tour against a solo concert by Yo Yo Ma.
What could possibly go wrong?
That night, Forrest Fan Boys infiltrated the new Opera House, raising havoc even before the actor reached the stage.
Tensions, fueled by far more than disagreements over top hats, boiled over — both resentment of the wealthy but also resentment of the British.
With art as the excuse, both audiences spilled into the streets and erupted into the most deadly riot in New York City history, holding the record at least two dozen dead, many more injured.
Both actors fled town.
Shakespeare survived.
Art Belongs to the People
During the Gold Rush (same year, 1849) miners routinely entertained each other by performing scenes from Shakespeare.
During the Civil War, George Custer, who sported beautiful blond curls, had been tapped to play Juliet in his unit’s Shakespeare production just before he was fortuitously transferred to another unit.
Just in time.
Making Art Is Not a Luxury
As popular as Shakespeare was, art collecting was still considered a luxury, but making it?
Not a luxury at all.
One could argue it is not even very fun.
Art that is now commanding millions of dollars (luxury) was created by artists (like Monet, Renoir, Cassatt, Sargent, and Degas) who lived in a constant state of both housing and food scarcity.
Yet their art was unquestionably necessary.
Making it was key to their mental health, their vision and their wellbeing even more than food.
The Impressionists earned enough from selling their paintings to buy bread and wine — a lot of wine.
They weren’t rich and they weren’t popular, but they persisted.
Creativity and Human Flourishing
Martha Nussbaum, a contemporary philosopher, links creativity to the human capacity to flourish, as well as developing emotional intelligence.
She argues that creativity is a vital part of human well-being and moral imagination, enabling us to step outside our personal perspectives and imagine the lives of others.
In her works, she connects creativity with empathy, moral reflection, and personal growth.
“The imaginative life opens up a space for empathy, for seeing things from another’s point of view, and for moral creativity in the world.”
Take Back Art
Working for the man every night and day may enrich that man, but it doesn’t necessarily enrich the worker or even the world.
Only creating and sharing our art can do that.
Take back art.
Make it your own.
Produce a Shakespeare play that encourages audience participation.
Because Art is not a luxury, it is essential.
Look for my new book — Take Up Space — Art is Your Second Act.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Catharine Bramkamp is a successful writing coach, Chief Storytelling Officer, former co-producer of Newbie Writers Podcast, and author of a dozen books including the Real Estate Diva Mysteries series, and The Future Girls series. She holds two degrees in English and is an adjunct university professor. After fracturing her wrist, she has figured out there is very little she is able to do with one hand tied behind her back. She delights in inspiring her readers.
