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of course it veers right into a crypto pitch but to ignore that for a second, I don't think we have a lack of art when it comes to the sheer quantity of it. I d

of course it veers right into a crypto pitch but to ignore that for a second, I don't think we have a lack of art when it comes to the sheer quantity of it. I don't think we have lived in an era with more mediocre creative expression, or cheaper means to do it. I'd very much be in favor of targeted funding of the arts, in particular in communities that lack access to public art. Reinvest in our museums and libraries in places that have turned into deserts. I can already see the comments about elitism and how someone selling his meme collection for 50 million dollars on a blockchain is super valuable for society but I don't buy it. Rather than making more stuff, which nobody can consume anyway at this point given that the day only has 24 hours, I'd be in favour of rebuilding some infrastructure to give people access to some of the best art that is underappreciated.

mcphage 5y ago
I don’t think mediocre creative expression is the same problem that you do. It’s not that the art is mediocre, although some obviously is. It’s that it serves a more specific niche. Rather than making art that everybody loves or hates, it’s easier to make art that a small group of people really love, and everybody else doesn’t matter. There doesn’t need to be a universal standard anymore of what’s good vs. mediocre vs. bad. And that’s a very good thing.
- Barrin92 5y ago
  wasn't my intention to just prioritize conventional art. I like niche, original stuff a lot, but I don't think there is more original, niche art today (maybe unintuitive take), or at least it is harder to find. Can't remember who made this point but, music is now because of the 'creator economy' system so optimized for virality and attention that the medium itself has changed almost every genre for playlist optimization. The 'concept album' is practically gone. You will today have a fairly hard time find tracks that are very long or very short simply because it's not a great fit for typical streaming consumption. I find it now more difficult paradoxically to find great rap than I did probably 20 years ago.
LurkingPenguin 5y ago
> I'd very much be in favor of targeted funding of the arts, in particular in communities that lack access to public art. Reinvest in our museums and libraries in places that have turned into deserts. This actually does happen, and has been happening for years. Just do a Google search for "center for the arts" and you'll see that there are a lot of non-profits that provide art education, scholarships, exhibition spaces, etc. to local communities. I don't know the author, but I find that a lot of the complaints about the "creator economy" really boil down to people who think because they create they should be rich. Not every person who paints or makes music earns millions, just as not every engineer who writes code earns millions.

mcphage 5y ago

I don’t think mediocre creative expression is the same problem that you do. It’s not that the art is mediocre, although some obviously is. It’s that it serves a more specific niche. Rather than making art that everybody loves or hates, it’s easier to make art that a small group of people really love, and everybody else doesn’t matter. There doesn’t need to be a universal standard anymore of what’s good vs. mediocre vs. bad. And that’s a very good thing.

Barrin92 5y ago
wasn't my intention to just prioritize conventional art. I like niche, original stuff a lot, but I don't think there is more original, niche art today (maybe unintuitive take), or at least it is harder to find. Can't remember who made this point but, music is now because of the 'creator economy' system so optimized for virality and attention that the medium itself has changed almost every genre for playlist optimization. The 'concept album' is practically gone. You will today have a fairly hard time find tracks that are very long or very short simply because it's not a great fit for typical streaming consumption. I find it now more difficult paradoxically to find great rap than I did probably 20 years ago.

LurkingPenguin 5y ago

> I'd very much be in favor of targeted funding of the arts, in particular in communities that lack access to public art. Reinvest in our museums and libraries in places that have turned into deserts. This actually does happen, and has been happening for years. Just do a Google search for "center for the arts" and you'll see that there are a lot of non-profits that provide art education, scholarships, exhibition spaces, etc. to local communities. I don't know the author, but I find that a lot of the complaints about the "creator economy" really boil down to people who think because they create they should be rich. Not every person who paints or makes music earns millions, just as not every engineer who writes code earns millions.