Art has been made through the centuries for a variety of purposes. An artist may create his or her artwork simply to be aesthetically pleasing, to entertain, to depict aspects of identity, to encapsulate the feel of society at the time, to… Make a profit. Today, it has become increasingly popular for people associated with big industries, such as advertising, to create works of art primarily for the purpose of selling a product and earning money. Traditionally, art has been made for numerous intentions linked with the period in which it was produced; never has there been such a focus on and progression of artworks which have the intention of getting some hard cash as in the 21st century. It seems that we are moving away from traditional art and instead focusing on commercial art! What started as a fine line between money making and meaningful art has become blurred and this has naturally caused controversy as to the question, can a purely commercial activity be classed as an art form?
Depending on what period artworks are made, the aesthetic impact will be different due to the changing general beliefs and attitudes of society. For example, art during the Renaissance had a huge aesthetic impact on audiences who visited places like the Sistine Chapel to marvel at the wonderful works of artists of the time. People expected to view paintings which revealed all that was beautiful in the world. Their expectations of aesthetic impact included extravagance in the amount of time, detail and money which were needed to create artwork which reflected the spirit of Renaissance society. However, generally Renaissance society did not want to make or view artworks solely... The rest of this article is available to subscribers of Eyeline
