Today's art world is driven by multimillion-dollar auctions and fancy art fairs inaccessible to most Americans — Art Basel Miami, anyone? Those who do view art spend an average of just eight seconds per work, so it's not clear that we're even meaningfully experiencing those Monet water lilies. In episode 36, Ellie and David explore the way capitalism has turned art into a commodity. From Basquiat to Banksy, even street art seems to have been devoured by capitalism’s endless hunger for monetary exchange, selling aesthetics of revolution for millions of dollars at auction. How might intricate Tibetan sand paintings and even macaroni necklaces help us envision a future for art outside of commodification?

Works Discussed

John Dewey, Art as ExperienceWalter Benjamin, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”
Hito Steyerl, Duty Free ArtTheodor Adorno, The Culture IndustryMichael Baxandall, Painting and ExperienceDiana Crane, “Reflections on the Global Art Market”
Cynthia Freeland, What is Art?McKenzie Wark, “Digital Provenance and the Artwork as Derivative”
Sianne Ngai, Our Aesthetic Categories: Zany, Cute, InterestingBanksy, Love is in the BinKarl Marx, 1844 ManuscriptsChristo and Jeanne-Claude, The Pont Neuf WrappedWebsite | overthinkpodcast.com

Instagram & Twitter | @overthink_pod

Email | Dearoverthink@gmail.com

YouTube | Overthink podcast