Art

September 2009 was marked with one of the most notable and most notorious thefts in the history of art  a collection of sport paintings by Andy Warhol was stolen from the LA home of a famous collector Richard L. Weisman. The collection, the value of which is difficult to estimate, simply disappeared without any hope for a return. However, just a decade ago the silkscreen paintings of the prominent sport figures made by Andy Warhol waited for the buyer to find them, and no one seemed interested in what Andy Warhol was trying to communicate to his audience. Today, art has become too unpredictable, too various, too changeable, and too transparent. The growing commercialization of art changes its nature and makes it impossible to understand the new criteria of quality in artistic expression. In present day environments, the quality and effectiveness of the artistic expression are defined by the amount of money, which the public is willing to pay for it as a result, art for the sake of art is no longer relevant, while artistic brutality and the open denial of conventional art values have already turned into perfect objects of commercialization.
   
That postmodern society is increasingly commercialized no one can deny, and the traits of commercialization are readily reflected in different forms of artistic expression, which postmodern artists tend to choose. Looking at the terribly naturalistic and even brutal graphic representations of Edgar Allan Poes works, which in no way reduce the scope of his literary talent, the society consciously uses his stories to attract additional profits. But if one of the goals of the show was to give kids exposure to gore and terror via art and literature  rather than by way of video games and slasher movies, may be it would have been better to distract kids from these horrors and to create a more pleasant representation of images from Poes stories This question is easy to answer horror and terror are never routine and thus can attract additional profits. This commercialization seems to have released the kind of artistic representation which for years had been suppressed by conventional norms and values of art. However, this very commercialization also imposes even stricter requirements on artists art should no longer be routine it should generate terror and gore, be brutal, naturalistic and unusual to the extent, which will make its consumers pay money to watch and possess it.
   
Such commercialization breaks conventional art at the seams and undermines the stability of conventional art norms. The cheap foam core models at the Whitney Museum, held to together with glue and pins also reflect this disruption of values and the failure of conventional art, but again, even the representation of these disruptions and failures aims to generate material profits. Even getting back to conservatism in museum exhibitions is justified by conservatism being fashionable, with predictable results. Even the value of Andy Warhols silkscreen paintings, the quality of which did not change over years, varies and depends on its monetary value which, under the influence of various market and art forces, is still bound to change. If not for the money which could have been paid for Warhols works, no one would ever remember him as one of the most prominent representatives of his age.
   
The growing commercialization of the postmodern society makes art unpredictable and changes its nature. Art is no longer for the sake of art rather, the quality of artistic presentation is measured by the sum of money, which the audience is willing to pay for it. This commercialization undermines the stability of conventional art values and breaks the value of traditional art. And even if some museums dare to go back to conservatism, these trends are not about preserving the historical value of art but are primarily justified by the commercial profits, which they can potentially generate.