“Every breath I take is art.”

Marcel Duchamp confidently spoke these words nearly a millennium ago, when struggling artists proliferated the streets and produced pieces worthy of historical acclaim. Every generation seems to have an iconic artist attached to its time period, whether it is Caravaggio of the 16^th century or Norman Rockwell of the 20^th century. This forces me to ask the question: Which artist will define our generation?

In my opinion Andy Warhol delineates the pinnacle of art. He represents both the traditional nature of art, namely cultivating an individual technique for himself, along with the pop culture trends of the mid-20^th century. The factory, Edie Sedgwick, and quadruple images of Marilyn Monroe are all part of the image Andy Warhol created for the pop art era. It seems since this apex of modern art we have been on a general decline, with modern art becoming synonymous with Warhol rather than creating a new movement to define our 21^st century generation.

Warhol’s colorful, highly stylized screen prints brought celebrities and pop culture into the face of the art world, changing the definition of what can be construed as art. This movement represents the end of an artistic era and the beginning of a new, commercialized one that is subsequently highly digitalized. In my Art 8 class last week one student suggested the place of art in our society has shifted to reside in the advertising realm rather than in traditional fine art. This shift is most likely the result of maintaining such a consumer-based culture. The proliferation of technology and consumer goods has inevitably led to a digitization of the art world as well.

Nowadays art is used commercially to boost sales. One look at the Ray-Ban ads secures this belief. Ray-Ban has capitalized on the colorized, comic book-esque pop art of figures like Warhol and Lichtenstein to create an aesthetically pleasing ad that simultaneously attracts customers. It is undeniable that Ray-Ban’s pop art advertisements are glossy, modern and unfalteringly attractive. However, the artistic value of the advertisement is degraded by the placement of the Ray-Ban logo in the bottom right corner along with their signature “Never Hide” trademark phrase plastered across the top of the piece. As visually pleasing as these advertisements are, the exploitation of art for the purpose of selling a commercial product hinders advertising from being labeled a true artistic movement.

Social media has also made its contribution to the decline of fine art. With the proliferation of media outlets like Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, Etsy, and Tumblr there are countless opportunities to share art amongst the broader community. This has inevitably altered what the public perceives as art. We’ve all been subject to sepia-filtered Instagrams of sunsets that are suddenly considered #artsy, proving that in the digital realm all it takes is an iPhone or Photoshop to become an artist. There is an emphasis on art that looks “cool” rather than on highly conceptualized pieces. I experienced this for myself upon uploading my artwork to Facebook a few months ago. It seemed the pieces that were received the best (i.e. generating the most “likes” and comments) were the ones devoid of any deeper conceptual background. My over-sized painting of Mike Tyson pulled double digit likes, while my woodcarving that commented on obsessiveness was glanced over and for the most part ignored. The infiltration of social media into the art community has compromised the value of art and created skewed notions of popularity.

It would be hard to discuss modern art without referencing the street art movement. Street art is arguably the most popular art form of the 21^st century. With documentaries like Exit Through the Gift Shop and Shepard Fairey’s infamous “Hope” poster for the 2008 Obama campaign, graffiti has come to be recognized by the larger art community. However, even this movement has fallen prey to commercialization, albeit much more subtly than with advertising. Banksy is the perfect example of the inhibiting effect our culture has on art. As soon as this mysterious graffiti artist tags a wall with an undeniably beautiful spray-painted piece, the art is cut out from the wall and then sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Additionally, the placement of street art in museums contradicts the practice in its essence and detracts from the excitement of the movement. Nonetheless, certain street artists like Banksy and Shepard Fairey have managed to achieve Warhol-esque iconic artistic fame, becoming recognizable to the broader masses regardless of the fine art limitations of street art.

There is undeniably a correlation between the authenticity of a piece and whether or not it is subject to reproduction. A work of art’s authenticity diminishes with each reproduction. The pop art era began the trend of mechanically reproducing art and generating it for the masses. However, in the mid-20^th century this mechanical practice was still relatively “new” and therefore not as debilitating as it is now. The mass generation of images that copy pop art style, namely the Ray-Ban advertisements, cheapen the movement and deny our generation of cultivating an artistic style that is uniquely our own. The inherent problem of the street art movement is its subjection to artificial reproduction – for example the appearance of Shepard Fairey’s “Obey” sticker on clothing and posters.

Does this phenomenon frustrate you? Lucky for local readers, Berkeley is the perfect place to start exploring the non-commercialized side of the art world. It does exist, albeit much less popular because of the absence of the mass market. The Oakland Art Murmur festival, held on the first Friday of every month, opens local art galleries’ doors to the public, showcasing a smorgasbord of non-commercialized artistic talent. Additionally, Balmy Alley in San Francisco’s Mission District displays the most concentrated collection of murals in the entire city, an interesting alternative to standing in a stuffy museum all day. Check out the Daily Cal Arts & Entertainment section for more information on upcoming exhibits and shows in the Berkeley area.

As the infamous Warhol once said, “They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” It’s time to create a new artistic indicator for our generation.

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