85. Advertising is dearly the most influential art form in this century. It is therefore
8 w6 E. N% {" m C! p$ Gtempting to think it is also the most important. However, great artistic achievement is / g/ d k9 Y0 B2 U" Q9 _
determined by criteria beyond mere influence. And when examined against these u9 k n# @" m2 _( q3 u
criteria, the genre of advertising does not measure up as truly important. F# v3 a6 E% A1 q9 I9 f u
To begin with, great art inspires us to look at the human situation from new
: D3 q x6 @2 W2 zperspectives. For example, early impressionist paintings challenge our thinking about ; `! H% r7 O4 L
visual perception and about the nature of the reality we assume we see. Other works, ! n+ c" L' K0 ], H7 y: ~: ?
like Rodin's "The Thinker," capture for our reflection the essential value of human
; i7 b1 |; G# Y; a' q1 D- p" ?1 _rationality, in stark contrast, advertising encourages people not to think or reflect at all,
n5 o; U& B: w+ b8 ^9 Zbut simply to spend.7 a! B5 I% R2 u1 i. Q3 k9 y9 t
In addition, the significance of great artistic achievement transcends time, even
4 `* S4 Q' z0 \. O* X5 |when it reflects a particular age. Yet advertising, by its very nature, is transient; in an 1 q+ D" M0 Q7 ]/ y
eye-blink, today's hot image or slogan is yesterday's news. Of course, the timelessness
" T+ R% A; ^9 ]of a work cannot be determined in its own time. Still, it's hard to imagine even the most i. J }! q5 n, Z; [" m7 T
powerful advertisement living beyond its current ad campaign. {; S* v1 @: i2 u) {: c
Admittedly, one ad—Andy Warhol's painting of the Campbell Soup can—has / S+ |& l/ p+ j
achieved timelessness. But notice the irony; the packaging or advertising image was 4 L4 D: q# e5 e3 }% l
banal until it was elevated above mere graphic design to high art. The lesson here is that # d) F. K. X' Z
advertising, in itself, probably will not achieve great importance as art. But taken up by
. h% U Q _7 |0 `9 _: I" Othe artist as content in a larger commentary on society, it can become transcendent.) u0 o/ | t8 A* A( }9 b
In sum, artists will no doubt continue to comment on advertising and on the $ b1 T0 x$ ^$ \0 M' V
materialistic values it reflects and promotes. But the ads themselves, however influential / m4 ]- A+ S6 ], q2 b: B& F' L
in marketing terms, fail to fulfill all the criteria for important art. |