Contemporary Artist example essay topic

P 2 P (peer to peer) Sharing -Crime or Artistic Justice The mark of artistic talents has traditionally not been something quantifiable measured in dollars and cents. Shakespeare was all but a pauper, Michelangelo rather middle class while Pablo Picasso died broke. However with the advent of new information technology, the gross commercialization of art has come to be an externality borne by all members of society. One can hardly turn on a computer without being told what products to put on one's hair -thrust down one's throat and shove into other places on the human body. It is clear, that media affects everyone, as opting out is simply not an option for any individual or collective in today's technologically tyrannical world. Ironically, individuals are not necessarily victims of this modern state of affairs as they are also the benefactors at the cost of some large corporate gurus.

With Peer to Peer (P 2 P) file transfers occurring continuously around the world the individual is given a chance to evaluate art for what it truly is, leaving a greater onus on artist to derive monetary remuneration by alternative means. The modern notion of artist revolves around junkie boy bands and artificially grown vocalist. The list of contemporary self-proclaimed divas includes names like Brittany Spears, Backstreet boys, NSYNC and many others. The so-called artists are manufactured and groomed in multimillion-dollar theatres filled with the most seasoned of spin-doctors, poised specifically to create the sound and image of the day to generate immediate profits. Songs are written, composed and choreographed by hundreds of respective experts only to be thrown into one giant smoke screen wielded by some pop idol that becomes a de facto spokesperson for the myriad of industry pundits; all of whom have a significant stake in the given image. Not surprisingly, when it comes to the prestigious awards presentations these pop gurus indiscriminately address themselves as artist.

They typically claim to be in love with their work and "do it all for the sake of the fans". The recent crusade to eliminate the piracy of "their" work is the newest agenda on the pop scene while scores of the biggest pop stars have become the music industry's new voice, speaking up for justice and fair compensation for the hard work and large investments that gets put in by the multitude of contributors. Their clandestine enemy is none other than the file sharing technology that allows Peer to Peer (P 2 P) file sharing. Some software such as Napster, Morpheus and Kazaa are the juggernaut force that seems to be cutting in on the obscene profit margins the industry once enjoyed.

Following the USA courts banishing Napster, similar software have emerged and based themselves outside of the USA. The biggest change however has been the method by which sharing media takes place with the software. The sites do not actually download anything but only act as a bulletin board for people to state what they have and browse the materials of others. The actual downloading is done from one computer directly to the other. When one contrasts the contemporary artist with those of previous days, it is apparent that the predecessors produced art for the intrinsic value of doing so. They were not motivated by money in the same sense as the modern day artist is.

They would have been happy to have had their work shared by the widest distribution for the very sake of having their mark made on the world. It is my contention that the artist of today will no longer be able to sell their music and image alone, but rather they will face the challenge of having their work distributed far more widely than ever imagined. As such, the heightened availability of the art will bring forth heavier scrutiny, meaning only the truly creative and worthy pieces will live on. Profits will be generated by live performances and other interactive activity rather than as an automatic result of recording an album. The individualistic view will likely criticize this prediction and claim that the music industry has every right to protect their intellectual property, and moreover they have a right to protect their ability to make a living.

The utilitarian however, is likely to see the extensive benefits of this file sharing as the greater good of society-for only when art is held to a true test of transparency will the real artist be credited. Aristotle claimed that Justice is served by simply doing one's job, in the case of P 2 P, justice is served when creative people are judged by the content of their work on the open market, allowing information technology do its job.