Art Forms in Advertising: The Beijing Olympics
While advertising has mass appeal, we may argue that with the proliferation of new media, art is now more recycled than ever and not the exclusive behest of individuals fortunate enough to travel to the great museums and art galleries of the world where such canonical and benchmark art works reside.- art works can be appreciated whether they reside at The Louvre and never leave their hallowed home, or if they are encapsulated within a series of television commercials.
In the industrial world it has been noted that “much of the creativity goes into advertising which probably serves more to divide than unite. The communities that share synthesizing symbols now are network communities that crosscut geographic settlements.”[35] The Beijing Olympic opening and closing ceremonies certainly extend the limits of art forms, art exposure and the skill of absolute precision, a long standing feature of high art whether visual or performance based, is extenuated by virtue of the latest technological wizardry, the unprecedented global telecasts and the voluminous populations who participated in the enactment of the such art works, all of which, undoubtedly, acted as a mega advertisement for Chinese ancient culture and modernisation.
According to Hatcher et. al. “as to the functions of art, there is much to be learned. In the industrial world much of the creativity goes into advertising which probably serves more to divide than unite. The communities that share synthesizing symbols now are network communities that crosscut geographic settlements. But art is being used in many places as a form of communication in the negotiations as to the nature of changes…” [36]
While advertising has mass appeal, we may argue that with the proliferation of new media, art is now more recycled than ever and not the exclusive behest of individuals fortunate enough to travel to the great museums and art galleries of the world where such canonical and benchmark art works reside.- art works can be appreciated whether they reside at The Louvre and never leave their hallowed home, or if they are encapsulated within a series of television commercials. As Gibbons noted, while advertising normally occupies a lower status than art, art is usually less accessible, unless of course advertising has appropriated it within culturally familiar formats.
The Beijing Olympic opening and closing ceremonies certainly extend the limits of art forms, art exposure and the skill of absolute precision, a long standing feature of high art whether visual or performing, is extenuated by virtue of the latest technological wizardry, the unprecedented global telecasts and the voluminous populations who participated in the enactment of the such art works, all of which, undoubtedly, acted as a mega advertisement for Chinese ancient culture and modernisation.
References
Baxter, Lynda Art Terms and Definitions, retrieved November 15, 2008 from http://www.artincanada.com/arttalk/arttermsanddefinitions.html 2000
Gibbons, J. Art and advertising. New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.
Gunz, Joel. Art vs. Advertising, An Epic Battle between Art Dweebs and Advertising Grunts, retrieved November 15, 2008 from http://joelgunz.blogspot.com/2006/06/art-vs-advertising-epic-battle-between.html 2006.
Harms, John and Kellner, Douglas. Toward a Critical Theory of Advertising, retrieved November 15, 2008 from http://www.uta.edu/huma/illuminations/kell6.htm n.d.
