Text by iloveicecreamandchocolate
The art industry can be divided into four distinct markets. These are classical contemporary, avant-garde art market, alternative art market and junk art market. The reason why we separate the art industry into different categories is because of different art styles, funding, recognition and distribution. Because there are so many different types of art it is natural to divide into different markets.
In example the classical contemporary or branded art on the one hand and the junk art marked on the other hand are completely different to each other. While the classical contemporary art is historical art known worldwide, the junk art is not recognized the same way. The artists in the category classical contemporary are admired and almost everybody agrees on the fact that they make true and beautiful art. On the other hand the artists in the junk art category often struggles to reach out to the audience, and to sell a huge quantity of their art is important to earn enough money so they can be able to live by their art.
The artists in the category classical contemporary art made highly recognized art in the 20th century, but today we have artist in the avant-garde art market which are also making recognized art. Therefore most artist today strive to achieve enough recognition to fall into that category as an artist. When you have reached the avant-garde category you have in most people´s eyes reached the top level as an artist today.
When it is hard to survive as an artist and you also really want recognition for your work it can be challenging for the artist. Do the artist make art for the art itself or do the artist make art for the commerce? Since art varies so much in style and expression it can be hard for the media to discuss. What is art, and who are the once allowed to decide and answer the question? Media often focus on the celebrity artist, the artists making the most money or the scandals. Often it is not the art itself that is the focus area in those articles. And that makes it hard for an up and coming artist to get famous for what he or she is creating, rather than who they are on their leisure time. Everybody have their own individual opinion about art, and it makes it challenging for the media to discuss because people tend to disagree a lot. What is good art and what is not? Who are the once to decide?
Making sense of art and design industries 