It is now no longer the time when an artist concentrates and spent countless hours only to learn the arts and depth of craftsmanship which may have been passed for centuries.
I just read in the current local Newspaper that Joni Mitchell is now doing a Jack of All Trades, creating music and writing lyrics, choreographing on a new dance and writing poetries. Artists now create their own brand of clothing, actors enter into the music industry, create perfume brands and also designer bags.
It is simply like the images from “Happenings” in 1960’s where the culture world is now diffusing. An artist can do anything and be whatever they want. The message sent is that there no longer is a distinct uniqueness, whether cultural or in any other discipline.
It is just like the barriers between countries which are now crumbling, the walls between different trades is now crumbling, and it is not a matter of good or evil. There has always been a goal of universality for arts. It is proven Shakespeare’s art still are loved, is that because violence, sex and comedy do sell, even now.
Still, now there are two main concerns regarding who can work on what in the cultural circus. The first concern is what all artists will need to face, which is the comparison between multi-disciplined art compared to depth of discipline in a particular art. There will be more prestige granted to whoever can do better in a particular discipline. The second concern is the result of lack of focus in our contemporary world.
Artist currently need to find their place in the world, a philosophy in making their creations, and depth of expertise so they can have balance. This is what Joni is doing with her creative life. However, the difficulty with media and popular culture is that because the covering of media of artist somehow indicate that having multi-discipline is more worthwhile than concentrating on just one. Now, a person who crosses the boundaries of one discipline is considered as the norm.
Starting artists will now get more pressure to be able to do everything. They will now try to achieve everything instead of committing to one art at a time and watching their skills develop. Doing this will then make them lose their concentration and ability to create a clear vision for themselves.