It is no secret that art today is vastly different than it was in the past. With the invention of the Internet, things were bound to change. In today’s society, very few people notice this change in art. On YouTube, Bo Burnham posted a video of his song “Art Is Dead” from his comedy special Words Words Words that he describes by saying, “This is something different. I hope you guys like it. This song is a confession and an apology. Honest, not sarcastic.” Through this song, Bo Burnham addresses the issue of the decline in creativity, originality, and genuine talent in art today.
Bo Burnham is an American comedian, singer, songwriter, and poet. He is known for his comedic songs written about social issues, celebrity culture, and the nature of comedy itself. Burnham was born in 1990 in Hamilton, Massachusetts, and often references growing up in Boston in many of his songs. He rose to fame through his YouTube channel where he posted himself singing songs he wrote. His videos have been viewed more than 165 million times. In addition to his comedy and music, Burnham has written a poetry book, and starred in a show he also wrote and produced on MTV.
In his song "Art Is Dead," Burnham sits at a grand piano dressed in a white t-shirt, black jeans, and red sneakers. Throughout the duration of the song, he stays seated, and sings into the microphone. All of his acts are uniformly simplistic. He is a wordsmith, and centers his act around the lyrics to his songs. There is nothing in his appearance or on stage to distract or take away from what comes out of his mouth.
This song is from his first stand-up routine, which debuted on May 21, 2010 at the Boston House of Blues. This special was aired for the first time on Comedy Central on October 16, 2010 to over 700,000 viewers. As of December of that same year, Bo Burnham was the youngest artist to have his own hour-long special on Comedy Central.
When introducing the song Art Is Dead, Burnham jokes that he wrote this song to help him sleep at night. The entire song discusses what entertainers and artists today are really like and what they are really about. First, he talks about how “entertainers like to seem complicated,” but actually are not. Many artists today are driven by fame and fortune rather than a love for their craft. While they try to come across as deep and unique, they are really just doing whatever they can to make money. Burnham sings, “I wanted my name in lights when I could have fed a family of four for forty f*cking fortnights.” Burnham is referencing the fact that many people want to be famous for shallow reasons. Sometimes people want to be famous just to be famous, and end up making excessive amounts of money that could be used for something as serious and important as feeding the hungry. Burnham is referring to the fact that many celebrities and famous people make more money than they even know what to do with, when they could actually be using some of that money to help the less fortunate. They are using fame for their own benefit and self image.
Later, Burnham says, “My drug’s attention. I am an addict. But I get paid to indulge in my habit. I must be psychotic. I must be demented to think that I’m worthy of all this attention, of all this money you worked really hard for. I slept in late while you worked at the drugstore.” Though there are numerous famous people who are true drug addicts, these lines imply that many more artists are addicts in other ways. They are addicted to the attention they receive from simply being well-known. If any non-celebrity is obsessed with attention, we deem them conceited or self-obsessed, and shame them for it. However, we are blind to the fact that there is self-obsession woven through the very heart of what it means to be famous, and we continue to throw money at these famous people, unintentionally encouraging it. While there are average people who work every single day just to make enough money to survive, many famous people are far overpaid for the amount of work they do.
Burnham continues, “It’s all an illusion. I’m wearing makeup.” What he is saying is a lot of the art we see everyday, is just an act, not real talent. We admire and yearn to be like these famous people, when, in reality, they are not who they appear to be. Even someone like Bo Burnham whose performance is mainly sitting at his piano and singing, has a hair and makeup team. We look at celebrities and desire to be just like them, but do not realize that the person they appear to be on TV, in magazines, or wherever else they appear, does not actually exist. Instead, they are often a product of makeup, Photoshop, and dishonesty.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, artists were not among the rich and famous. Instead, they were part of the middle or lower middle class, even below the merchants. After World War II, art became institutionalized through museums, opera houses, ballet houses, etc. Deresiewicz (2015) says, “The artist became the professional. The artist’s progress in the postwar model was also professional. You didn’t burst from obscurity to celebrity with a single, astonishing work. You slowly climbed the ranks.” This idea of rising from obscurity is the most important to note. Today, people achieve stardom seemingly overnight. Many of the artists who have become household names, such as Justin Bieber, started by simply posting videos of their talent to YouTube. There are many celebrities who have become famous and few know why or how they started. It is more rare now than before for someone to become a huge success after working incredibly hard, and slowly moving their way up.
Kash (2016) discusses the idea that it seems like everyone is an artist today. It is as though everyone is constantly working on some project, and people are so consumed in their own work that few people take on the role of the viewer, listener, or reader anymore. Art has become so accessible that it has lost the intimacy it once had. Art is now mainstream, and so ingrained in our day to day lives that creativity now seems worn out.
Kash (2016) comments on the fact that art used be about confession. It was an outlet for people to comment on things that were happening around them, or what they were feeling. Though this still exists today, Kash agrees with Burnham on the idea that art now is about profit. It is not that today’s artists do not care about things anymore, but the priority now is to create something that will provide them with the most money or fame.
Kash (2016) explains, “Art is no longer something to remember. Art is something to forget, to flip through, to browse, to vacate the space, to let go.” It is nearly impossible to go anywhere now without seeing someone’s work of art. We hear musicians on the radio, see paintings on the walls, watch movies and shows on TV. Yet, there is little raw talent anymore, “Talent died with the invention of talent shows” (Kash, 2016) Anyone who has seen American Idol would likely agree with this. Auditioners stand in front of the judges, often openly admitting that what they truly want is fame and fortune. Of course many people say that they want to audition because singing, performing, and music in general is their passion, but many are there just for the sake of chasing fame.
Today, art is often about getting the most clicks. Clickbait titles are added to articles, videos, and more to convince as many people as possible to visit someone’s work, thereby earning the most money. Art has been and still is a source of entertainment, but it is rarely about what goes into it anymore. Popular music is usually based on what is the most catchy and fun to listen to, with little regard to any deeper meaning or emotion in the song. Mozart composed over 600 works, yet few people know his full name, nevermind appreciate his music. However, an artist like Justin Bieber has written little to no pieces of his own music, but has millions of fans who know everything from his blood type to the names of his entire family.
Though there is no doubt that there is extreme validity and accuracy to both Bo Burnham and Katia Kash’s arguments that “art is dead,” I do not believe that “dead” is the right word choice. As someone who spends a large portion of her day consuming media, I have come across hundreds of artists who truly deserve to be called such. Art has simply taken a new form today, and evolved alongside media. It is not that there is no creativity, originality, or talent left in the world, it is that there is more opportunity for the non-creative, unoriginal, and untalented individuals to come into the spotlight. Art is simply more accessible than ever.
I may firmly believe that someone like Britney Spears who averages around $31 million every year should not be focusing her career around how she can make the most money, but it is no secret that, in general, society today is driven by money. There are more things to buy, and success is judged by how much money you make. That does not mean there is any excuse for why the most famous people we can think of should not be giving some of their money to more worthy causes, but it cannot be expected for artists to treat fame and talent the same way that it was treated hundreds of years ago. Art is not dead; true art is rare and unlike it has ever been before.
Source List
Burnham, Bo. "Art Is Dead." YouTube. YouTube, 28 Oct. 2010. Web. 01 May 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo9pU1q8sy8>.
Deresiewicz, William. "The Death of the Artist—and the Birth of the Creative Entrepreneur." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company. Web. 1 May 2016. <http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/01/the-death-of-the-artist-and-the-birth-of-the-creative-entrepreneur/383497/>.
Kash, Katia. "True Art Is Dead, And This Why." Thought Catalog. 06 Jan. 2016. Web. 01 May 2016. <http://thoughtcatalog.com/katia-kash/2016/01/true-art-is-dead-and-this-is-why/>.
Bo Burnham is an American comedian, singer, songwriter, and poet. He is known for his comedic songs written about social issues, celebrity culture, and the nature of comedy itself. Burnham was born in 1990 in Hamilton, Massachusetts, and often references growing up in Boston in many of his songs. He rose to fame through his YouTube channel where he posted himself singing songs he wrote. His videos have been viewed more than 165 million times. In addition to his comedy and music, Burnham has written a poetry book, and starred in a show he also wrote and produced on MTV.
In his song "Art Is Dead," Burnham sits at a grand piano dressed in a white t-shirt, black jeans, and red sneakers. Throughout the duration of the song, he stays seated, and sings into the microphone. All of his acts are uniformly simplistic. He is a wordsmith, and centers his act around the lyrics to his songs. There is nothing in his appearance or on stage to distract or take away from what comes out of his mouth.
This song is from his first stand-up routine, which debuted on May 21, 2010 at the Boston House of Blues. This special was aired for the first time on Comedy Central on October 16, 2010 to over 700,000 viewers. As of December of that same year, Bo Burnham was the youngest artist to have his own hour-long special on Comedy Central.
When introducing the song Art Is Dead, Burnham jokes that he wrote this song to help him sleep at night. The entire song discusses what entertainers and artists today are really like and what they are really about. First, he talks about how “entertainers like to seem complicated,” but actually are not. Many artists today are driven by fame and fortune rather than a love for their craft. While they try to come across as deep and unique, they are really just doing whatever they can to make money. Burnham sings, “I wanted my name in lights when I could have fed a family of four for forty f*cking fortnights.” Burnham is referencing the fact that many people want to be famous for shallow reasons. Sometimes people want to be famous just to be famous, and end up making excessive amounts of money that could be used for something as serious and important as feeding the hungry. Burnham is referring to the fact that many celebrities and famous people make more money than they even know what to do with, when they could actually be using some of that money to help the less fortunate. They are using fame for their own benefit and self image.
Later, Burnham says, “My drug’s attention. I am an addict. But I get paid to indulge in my habit. I must be psychotic. I must be demented to think that I’m worthy of all this attention, of all this money you worked really hard for. I slept in late while you worked at the drugstore.” Though there are numerous famous people who are true drug addicts, these lines imply that many more artists are addicts in other ways. They are addicted to the attention they receive from simply being well-known. If any non-celebrity is obsessed with attention, we deem them conceited or self-obsessed, and shame them for it. However, we are blind to the fact that there is self-obsession woven through the very heart of what it means to be famous, and we continue to throw money at these famous people, unintentionally encouraging it. While there are average people who work every single day just to make enough money to survive, many famous people are far overpaid for the amount of work they do.
Burnham continues, “It’s all an illusion. I’m wearing makeup.” What he is saying is a lot of the art we see everyday, is just an act, not real talent. We admire and yearn to be like these famous people, when, in reality, they are not who they appear to be. Even someone like Bo Burnham whose performance is mainly sitting at his piano and singing, has a hair and makeup team. We look at celebrities and desire to be just like them, but do not realize that the person they appear to be on TV, in magazines, or wherever else they appear, does not actually exist. Instead, they are often a product of makeup, Photoshop, and dishonesty.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, artists were not among the rich and famous. Instead, they were part of the middle or lower middle class, even below the merchants. After World War II, art became institutionalized through museums, opera houses, ballet houses, etc. Deresiewicz (2015) says, “The artist became the professional. The artist’s progress in the postwar model was also professional. You didn’t burst from obscurity to celebrity with a single, astonishing work. You slowly climbed the ranks.” This idea of rising from obscurity is the most important to note. Today, people achieve stardom seemingly overnight. Many of the artists who have become household names, such as Justin Bieber, started by simply posting videos of their talent to YouTube. There are many celebrities who have become famous and few know why or how they started. It is more rare now than before for someone to become a huge success after working incredibly hard, and slowly moving their way up.
Kash (2016) discusses the idea that it seems like everyone is an artist today. It is as though everyone is constantly working on some project, and people are so consumed in their own work that few people take on the role of the viewer, listener, or reader anymore. Art has become so accessible that it has lost the intimacy it once had. Art is now mainstream, and so ingrained in our day to day lives that creativity now seems worn out.
Kash (2016) comments on the fact that art used be about confession. It was an outlet for people to comment on things that were happening around them, or what they were feeling. Though this still exists today, Kash agrees with Burnham on the idea that art now is about profit. It is not that today’s artists do not care about things anymore, but the priority now is to create something that will provide them with the most money or fame.
Kash (2016) explains, “Art is no longer something to remember. Art is something to forget, to flip through, to browse, to vacate the space, to let go.” It is nearly impossible to go anywhere now without seeing someone’s work of art. We hear musicians on the radio, see paintings on the walls, watch movies and shows on TV. Yet, there is little raw talent anymore, “Talent died with the invention of talent shows” (Kash, 2016) Anyone who has seen American Idol would likely agree with this. Auditioners stand in front of the judges, often openly admitting that what they truly want is fame and fortune. Of course many people say that they want to audition because singing, performing, and music in general is their passion, but many are there just for the sake of chasing fame.
Today, art is often about getting the most clicks. Clickbait titles are added to articles, videos, and more to convince as many people as possible to visit someone’s work, thereby earning the most money. Art has been and still is a source of entertainment, but it is rarely about what goes into it anymore. Popular music is usually based on what is the most catchy and fun to listen to, with little regard to any deeper meaning or emotion in the song. Mozart composed over 600 works, yet few people know his full name, nevermind appreciate his music. However, an artist like Justin Bieber has written little to no pieces of his own music, but has millions of fans who know everything from his blood type to the names of his entire family.
Though there is no doubt that there is extreme validity and accuracy to both Bo Burnham and Katia Kash’s arguments that “art is dead,” I do not believe that “dead” is the right word choice. As someone who spends a large portion of her day consuming media, I have come across hundreds of artists who truly deserve to be called such. Art has simply taken a new form today, and evolved alongside media. It is not that there is no creativity, originality, or talent left in the world, it is that there is more opportunity for the non-creative, unoriginal, and untalented individuals to come into the spotlight. Art is simply more accessible than ever.
I may firmly believe that someone like Britney Spears who averages around $31 million every year should not be focusing her career around how she can make the most money, but it is no secret that, in general, society today is driven by money. There are more things to buy, and success is judged by how much money you make. That does not mean there is any excuse for why the most famous people we can think of should not be giving some of their money to more worthy causes, but it cannot be expected for artists to treat fame and talent the same way that it was treated hundreds of years ago. Art is not dead; true art is rare and unlike it has ever been before.
Source List
Burnham, Bo. "Art Is Dead." YouTube. YouTube, 28 Oct. 2010. Web. 01 May 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo9pU1q8sy8>.
Deresiewicz, William. "The Death of the Artist—and the Birth of the Creative Entrepreneur." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company. Web. 1 May 2016. <http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/01/the-death-of-the-artist-and-the-birth-of-the-creative-entrepreneur/383497/>.
Kash, Katia. "True Art Is Dead, And This Why." Thought Catalog. 06 Jan. 2016. Web. 01 May 2016. <http://thoughtcatalog.com/katia-kash/2016/01/true-art-is-dead-and-this-is-why/>.