An instagram ad popped up in my feed and it made me think..
Is this the life cycle of our great (dead) artists?
From gallery shows in New York to Made in China cheap tote bags in a random fast fashion store? Feels like the art, in this case even the great Basquiat name, is just another IP to sell and reproduce without any respect or logic. Like we see with others IP’s that circulate through cheap stores like Pepco, SinSay…
I don’t know, maybe I’m geting this all wrong but somehow my inner gut says this is not the way we should end up treating our (dead) artists. Becoming cheap 6$ discount items, manufactured by unpayed labor and made out of cheap, unsustainable materials that will end up in a landfill eventually.
Also, the giant companies that have millions of items for sale, with random-ass designs, could finally hire new artists, new talent to showcase, introduce them to the world – you get new items, artists get payed and have a little bit of exposure. Everybody wins!
That’’s why I love the Medecine stores in Poland, they always have a local artist / designer spotlight, that they collaborated on to create a special clothing collection. Each visit is like a little gallery show and I love that idea. Companies should take notes – this is freakin awesome!
Last time I visited it was tattoo art theme, as I understand, colab between many tattoo artists. Let me know what are your thoughts on this or I’’m just being a grumpy this morning.
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