Art plays a significant role in human culture. Art implies the expression of the artist’s personal ideas, feelings, and individuality. The works of art are the objects of the world cognition through the artist’s experience, and it is meant to inspire. Nevertheless, the creative processes and the artworks are often misused for the multiple purposes such as financial profit, capitalization, and propaganda. Such attitude invokes the lack of individuality creating the mass production products, proving that along with the promotion of the new artists in the world and sharing ideas the large trade and political institutions can have the bad impacts on the culture in general.
The readings “Fashion Shows, Fashion Flows” by Lise Skov and “Van Gogh on Demand” by Winnie Won Yin Wong describe the interconnections between art and trade, the role of globalization and international relations on the art development. The authors tell how art is used by the financial corporations and the political institutions for their own purposes.
Nowadays, fashion is one of the most prominent kinds of art. It is the ever-changing seasonal phenomenon. Asian fashion always was based on traditions and customs it has its own features and character. But the distinction of the Asian fashion from the Western fashion started to vanish in the 20th century when these two kinds gradually merged into the world fashion (Skov 221). The center of the Chinese fashion trade, Hong Kong, became involved in the global market and improved its relations with the USA, “by far the biggest and the most profitable consumer market in the world” (Skov 226). The Chinese fashion market became open for the foreigners and the Westerners in particular. The casual Western style in fashion became dominant and more demanded. Therefore its production increased, and the Asian traditional clothing acquiesced to the regular Western-style garments.
The painting also can be used for not merely creative purposes but for the financial benefits or ideology propaganda. Dafen village became a center “where thousands of Chinese painters were producing millions of Western paintings for the world market” (Wong 2). The government’s officials chose the original paintings to be copied according to their views. For example, the painters applying for the position were to make a copy of the Vladimir Stasov portrait by Repin, who was “widely exalted for his socialist and revolutionary consciousness” (Wong 3). Despite the fact that the village became an international art center and drew the attention of many prominent artists in the beginning of the 21st century, the work of Dafen artists is also often regarded as the fake art.
The international relations and the widespread promotion of the particular artists, works, or ideas enrich the cultural environment. Nevertheless, when the uniqueness and originality are replaced by the mass manufacture of the readymade products, it harms the creativity. The mass production cannot be considered art as such. The combination of the uniqueness and the smart promotion are crucial for the work’s cultural value preservation.
Works Cited
Skov, Lise. “Fashion Shows, Fashion Flows: The Asia Pacific Meets in Hong Kong.” Rogue Flows: Trans-Asian Cultural Traffic. Ed. Koichi Iwabuchi, Stephen Muecke, and Mandy Thomas. Hong Kong, China: Hong Kong University Press, 2004. Print.
Wong, Winnie Won Yin. Van Gogh on Demand: China and the Readymade, Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2014. Print.