Lecture 7,BEPEN BHANA

In the 7th week of the second semester, we had a presentation from our lecturer Bepen Bhana. He showed us an episode of The Apprentice UK and also introduced some artists.

What issues does this episode raise about the relationship between art and commerce? For my opinion, art can be commercialized but commerce cannot be artistically. In The Apprentice UK, the photographs and paintings had become a commercial product. They use artwork to make money. Even though this ‘product’ is not like an artwork as paintings or photographs, I still can see there is an art in it. For example, a car, will you consider a car as an artwork? For me, the answer is yes. Even though it is a machinery product, it still needs to be designed aesthetically. Its shapes and the colour match are very important. The very famous pop art artist Andy Warhol is a very good example. His work was very commercialized. He also called his studio the Factory. His artwork like the Campbell’s Soup Cans and the screen prints of the celebrities were mass-produced and became commodity for sale.

What stereotypes does this episode present about the art world and the business world? The two teams in The Apprentice UK used their different methods to sale their products. Their sales methods showed the art world is different from the business world. The woman in the team, which was selling the Lips, she used a very soft way to sell the work which was a very sensible for me as an art student. She asked a lot of questions about the story behind the paintings. But at the end she did not sell any. In the other team, which was selling the Fish and Horses, sold many of the work. When they were having the meetings with two artists, all they asked was the numbers. They thought over what the customers want and always carry the calculator with them which I think they treat the artwork is not an artwork but as a production.  In the consumers’ point of view, an artwork is like a decoration for their space. Most consumers just want to buy something nice into their bedroom or living room or wherever to look good.

I’m very enjoying watching this episode of The Apprentice UK and it very influence me.  It showed the relation and difference between art and business very evidently. Also influenced my practice and art future. They showed me another way of looking at artwork as a businessman or consumers.