The Wealthy Should Invest More in Experimental Art Outside the Mainstream

artwork by Joseph Farbrook

The most experimental, alternative, and avant-garde art out there is mainly being financed and supported by specialized institutions and platforms (such as Point Pleasant Publishing). We all know about the cuts which have been made to public funding of the arts, which leaves visual art more reliant on private investment. However, even without these cuts, many of these publicly funded venues and platforms are not willing to reach out beyond their immediate network. Most solo exhibitions at major museums for example go to the same artists represented by the same few galleries within the New York / London / Los Angeles circuit. 

artwork by Paige Lee Miller

Private enterprise and industry have much to gain from experimental art in which they do not realize. Art which is conceptual also behaves as an educational tool. Conceptual art is about the exchange of ideas and critical thinking leading to a more intelligent and better-versed public on matters pertaining to civilization and ourselves. A smarter, more refined, and well-cultured public population is in the best interest to private enterprise and potential singular patrons because this avenue will lead to a safer, more enlightened, and more pleasant population to deal with. Good art makes people have improved character, and what private enterprise does not benefit from individuals and a population with a balanced temperament? 

artwork by Viet Van Tran

We can blame much of the anger and frustration expressed in today’s world not just because of all the conflict and turmoil occurring, but also because a lack of avenues to express oneself. When people feel like they cannot be heard, especially in the arts, a festering and simmering anger, resentment as well as bitterness engulfs individuals and the general public. Experimental art, in essence, allows us to release tension and angst through conceptual and communicative methods, not just mere expressions of marks or chisels. In the contemporary era, full of realms of digital nihilism, conceptual and experimental art is needed now more than ever before. The suppression and insular entrapment of being unable to express ideas or interpret them, especially through the arts, has created a world population simmering with anger and fury. 

artwork by Anna Zhang

Only private enterprise and individual patrons can save the arts, not the government. Much like how capitalism, free markets, and supply-side economics works, the arts benefit the most when organically promoted by free will as opposed to a mandate by the government. If artists are hoping a socialist revolution will overtake the United States and the U.S. will suddenly turn into Canada, they should probably come back to reality. First of all, we would not want to be like Canada, because despite the fact they pride themselves on universal healthcare, such a system has astronomical costs and inefficiencies. Canada has some of the highest taxes and prices in the world precisely because they need to pay for their expensive universal healthcare filled with patients waiting in line even for basic care as well as their welfare state. The United States has the most innovative and advanced healthcare in the world precisely because much of the industry is regulated by the free market and private enterprise. 

artwork by Joseph Farbrook

Low taxes, limited regulation, and supply-side economics allows private enterprise to have more spare income to invest in the arts as well as leaving artists with more spare cash in their pockets. We could argue the opposite and say let’s tax everyone to death and forcibly finance the arts through the government with huge funds. But does the government and government-funded venues and platforms really have the best interest of the avant-garde in mind? Of course not. Private investment, much like free market capitalism, leads to innovation in the arts. Wealthy individuals and artists benefit the most when a free exchange of ideas and commerce takes place. In other words, a free market and robust private enterprise leads to exposure of more relevant art.

artwork by Viet Van Tran