Hi there my fellow creatures of the night!
After a long and thoughtful hiatus from blogging, I have decided to come back with two articles on two subjects that have bothered me extensively for years. The first one will deal with the Whole Popular Culture VS. High Culture scenario... the second, with Rock as the Musical Aristocracy of our time.
AT LAST AN ARTICLE ABOUT AN ILLUMINATING SUBJECT:
There was once a time when culture was divided into two different perspectives and schools of thought: High Culture and Popular Culture (it still is but to a different extent and I will tell you why). High Culture is defined as a type of art which has been conceived by trained artists and professionals and is the maximum expression of the soul and has been proved and approved by worldwide critics, and most importantly, by time. (High Culture has resisted the passage of time and remains, to this date, as popular as when it was once created). The great paintings of Da Vinci, Rafael, Michelangelo, Picasso, the music of Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Ravel, Stravinsky as well as Classical Theater, Ballet, Opera, Literature and countless other forms of expression fit into this category. High Culture is valued mostly by experts and critics, and has survived up to the 21st century because of its quality and essence. In summary, High Culture is formed only by the best of the best and is mostly enjoyed only by a selected few who have been educated and trained in certain areas and are cultured enough to understand them and grasp their concepts.
Then we have popular culture. Popular culture has existed as long as humanity has and it is defined as the rest of the artistic spectrum; popular music, pop art, and pretty much everything else. But in contrast to High Culture, Popular Culture is not as developed and as complex.
Popular Culture and High Culture have existed forever, but because of few possible means of preserving art in the past, only the crème de la crème of art has survived the passage of time. High Culture has always won the battle over art and over popularity, and this is mostly thanks to the fact that only the legacy of educated, famous and cultured people survived to modernity. 17th century popular music had didn't survive, as its composers had absolutely no way of recording or even (at times) writing down their own music, which is why we only have limited knowledge of past popular culture... only High Culture survived. Why? We will see…
Now we live in an age of massive communications, where it is more possible to get known and become famous that at any point in the past. The internet has made it much easier to "make it" and "leave a legacy", and popular culture has taken a standpoint as a result of that.
Now what could have easily been lost with the death of its artist survives the passage of time, and this is why Popular Culture has become a dominant trait in our society. In the past, Popular Culture had no way of spreading (as it wasn't as good in quality as High Culture Was) and only la Crème De la Crème (second time I use the term) of Art and of Everything A.k.A. High Culture, traveled and became known. Now that communication is much easier and efficient, Popular Culture can travel just as fast as High Culture and becomes better known even at a faster rate.
There is no denying that Popular Culture has nowadays become the standard in art and in pretty much everything. High Culture as we knew it has receded and pretty much disappeared into the depths of the circles of the critics, artists and cultured and educated people that understand it. The Result? People no longer know what High Culture is, and the only thing they're in contact with is Popular Culture... and let’s not forget, Popular Culture is popular because of one thing: Because it is simple, easy to understand and enjoyable to the average folk... and the average folk is definitely not an educated critic who can really enjoy, understand and grasp the significance of real culture.
So in summary, Popular Culture is indeed better known than High Culture and yes, much more people prefer popular culture to high culture. But the fact of the matter is that Pop Culture is still pretty much the same as it was 300 years ago... "The art of the folk, the art of the masses, the art of the people." And, I ask you... who are the masses? Are the masses trained to critique, understand and grasp art for what it is? The answer is no. The only reason Popular Art is popular is because it is simplistic and therefore lacks depth, and therefore quality... Popular Art is much more easier to conceive than High Art (High Art is poorly understood and liked by only a few) as is therefore more likeable to the average untrained folk with zero knowledge of real art. So yes, Popular Culture has outgained High Culture, but this is only because people now have the means to reproduce their mundane art and spread it in a massive way... and because it is so simple and easy to understand, it outsells High Art, which was once the only competitor in the market....
In summary, Popular Art is more widely known than High Culture, but that doesn't deter or stop the fact that Popular Art is still vastly inferior to High Art... and there is no better proof for this than the passage of time... The Wide Spread of Popular art is very recent, and not enough time has passed for us to determine how long will Pop Art from the 60's last... But I can tell you this, if Popular Art disappeared in the past, it did because it was inferior to other forms of art.
We still listen to the Beatles, but for how long? I don't know how long we will be listening to the Beatles for (Popular Culture), but I do know that we will forever listen to the music of Bach... Period. No point in denying it. The Beatles and Popular Music might have been great and they might have changed the world, but when compared as an art form, to the immortal music of Johann Sebastian Bach, the Beatles and the Entire Pop Culture spectrum fall tragically short... why? Because no matter what happens, High Culture will always be superior to Popular culture... THAT'S WHY IT'S CALLED HIGH CULTURE!!!!!!
So... conclusion? Popular Culture is only widely known because it has been helped by mass media. Without mass media and communications, Popular Culture would have been lost just as it was lost over the last few centuries. Why? Because it lacks quality and is only liked and enjoyed by people who don't know about art and don't have the education required to understand and grasp what real art and what real quality is. High Culture has always been there and will be there. Its followers have always been a very small educated and culture minority who, up until the age of massive communications, held absolute power over the expansion of art and music. But now with the help of communications Popular Art has blinded everyone and overpowered the market. But no matter what happens, High Art will always be High art and will survive for eternity.
Call me a purist… but I prefer to call myself a realist.
That’s all for now…
Happy Hunting,
"I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me."
The Wiki Vampire
After a long and thoughtful hiatus from blogging, I have decided to come back with two articles on two subjects that have bothered me extensively for years. The first one will deal with the Whole Popular Culture VS. High Culture scenario... the second, with Rock as the Musical Aristocracy of our time.
AT LAST AN ARTICLE ABOUT AN ILLUMINATING SUBJECT:
There was once a time when culture was divided into two different perspectives and schools of thought: High Culture and Popular Culture (it still is but to a different extent and I will tell you why). High Culture is defined as a type of art which has been conceived by trained artists and professionals and is the maximum expression of the soul and has been proved and approved by worldwide critics, and most importantly, by time. (High Culture has resisted the passage of time and remains, to this date, as popular as when it was once created). The great paintings of Da Vinci, Rafael, Michelangelo, Picasso, the music of Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Ravel, Stravinsky as well as Classical Theater, Ballet, Opera, Literature and countless other forms of expression fit into this category. High Culture is valued mostly by experts and critics, and has survived up to the 21st century because of its quality and essence. In summary, High Culture is formed only by the best of the best and is mostly enjoyed only by a selected few who have been educated and trained in certain areas and are cultured enough to understand them and grasp their concepts.
Then we have popular culture. Popular culture has existed as long as humanity has and it is defined as the rest of the artistic spectrum; popular music, pop art, and pretty much everything else. But in contrast to High Culture, Popular Culture is not as developed and as complex.
Popular Culture and High Culture have existed forever, but because of few possible means of preserving art in the past, only the crème de la crème of art has survived the passage of time. High Culture has always won the battle over art and over popularity, and this is mostly thanks to the fact that only the legacy of educated, famous and cultured people survived to modernity. 17th century popular music had didn't survive, as its composers had absolutely no way of recording or even (at times) writing down their own music, which is why we only have limited knowledge of past popular culture... only High Culture survived. Why? We will see…
Now we live in an age of massive communications, where it is more possible to get known and become famous that at any point in the past. The internet has made it much easier to "make it" and "leave a legacy", and popular culture has taken a standpoint as a result of that.
Now what could have easily been lost with the death of its artist survives the passage of time, and this is why Popular Culture has become a dominant trait in our society. In the past, Popular Culture had no way of spreading (as it wasn't as good in quality as High Culture Was) and only la Crème De la Crème (second time I use the term) of Art and of Everything A.k.A. High Culture, traveled and became known. Now that communication is much easier and efficient, Popular Culture can travel just as fast as High Culture and becomes better known even at a faster rate.
There is no denying that Popular Culture has nowadays become the standard in art and in pretty much everything. High Culture as we knew it has receded and pretty much disappeared into the depths of the circles of the critics, artists and cultured and educated people that understand it. The Result? People no longer know what High Culture is, and the only thing they're in contact with is Popular Culture... and let’s not forget, Popular Culture is popular because of one thing: Because it is simple, easy to understand and enjoyable to the average folk... and the average folk is definitely not an educated critic who can really enjoy, understand and grasp the significance of real culture.
So in summary, Popular Culture is indeed better known than High Culture and yes, much more people prefer popular culture to high culture. But the fact of the matter is that Pop Culture is still pretty much the same as it was 300 years ago... "The art of the folk, the art of the masses, the art of the people." And, I ask you... who are the masses? Are the masses trained to critique, understand and grasp art for what it is? The answer is no. The only reason Popular Art is popular is because it is simplistic and therefore lacks depth, and therefore quality... Popular Art is much more easier to conceive than High Art (High Art is poorly understood and liked by only a few) as is therefore more likeable to the average untrained folk with zero knowledge of real art. So yes, Popular Culture has outgained High Culture, but this is only because people now have the means to reproduce their mundane art and spread it in a massive way... and because it is so simple and easy to understand, it outsells High Art, which was once the only competitor in the market....
In summary, Popular Art is more widely known than High Culture, but that doesn't deter or stop the fact that Popular Art is still vastly inferior to High Art... and there is no better proof for this than the passage of time... The Wide Spread of Popular art is very recent, and not enough time has passed for us to determine how long will Pop Art from the 60's last... But I can tell you this, if Popular Art disappeared in the past, it did because it was inferior to other forms of art.
We still listen to the Beatles, but for how long? I don't know how long we will be listening to the Beatles for (Popular Culture), but I do know that we will forever listen to the music of Bach... Period. No point in denying it. The Beatles and Popular Music might have been great and they might have changed the world, but when compared as an art form, to the immortal music of Johann Sebastian Bach, the Beatles and the Entire Pop Culture spectrum fall tragically short... why? Because no matter what happens, High Culture will always be superior to Popular culture... THAT'S WHY IT'S CALLED HIGH CULTURE!!!!!!
So... conclusion? Popular Culture is only widely known because it has been helped by mass media. Without mass media and communications, Popular Culture would have been lost just as it was lost over the last few centuries. Why? Because it lacks quality and is only liked and enjoyed by people who don't know about art and don't have the education required to understand and grasp what real art and what real quality is. High Culture has always been there and will be there. Its followers have always been a very small educated and culture minority who, up until the age of massive communications, held absolute power over the expansion of art and music. But now with the help of communications Popular Art has blinded everyone and overpowered the market. But no matter what happens, High Art will always be High art and will survive for eternity.
Call me a purist… but I prefer to call myself a realist.
That’s all for now…
Happy Hunting,
"I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me."
The Wiki Vampire
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