American influence on European art

[ignorAmouse]

I'm curious about what others think is the true extent of American influence on European art over the last 20 years.

[deborah]

I can only speak for myself actually, but in working with so many artists from so many different cultures and backgrounds
I would like to believe American artists have had as great or greater an influence on European art as their art has had on us, and probably for a longer period than twenty years.

Many changes have taken place in the art world. We have become what Thomas Jefferson had once stated America should be...a nation of artists. Art is no longer "for the rich" and is incorporated into everyone's daily lives.

Education and commercialism plays a large role in making people aware of the arts. We have now the resources and means of communication to reach millions of people within their homes where ever "home" might be.

The projects I most admire of American artists are those that provide a genuine service to the public. Such as "Save The Whales" and many little known contributions made buy the sales of famous paintings like that of Van Gogh's "Noble Irises"...that painting alone provided funds to build a gallery and helped to renovate a museum in Portland, Maine and provided monies for the National Fisheries Association.

There are great things happening in America by dedicated and hard working artists. I have many art "heros" from those that most of us are familiar with, to the millions of teachers in our elementary, middle and high schools, that continue to nurture and provide educational foundations for our youths.

We are a nation of artists for good causes and whenever artists give back to communities it provides a resounding ripple effect, more than a drop in the bucket.

I think clearly our influence can be seen in the news media through out the world, it seems our news anchors,  have established "a look" that has become "a standard" for news casters through out the world.

In a more common sense, our television programming ie: sitcoms, daytime soaps, game shows, cartoons, advertisements, sports networks, music networks etc... are used as "standards" for not only European television but in Eastern societies as well. This is also true of our radio programming, literary works, actors, musicians, photographers and so on...

With the interchange between European artists and American artists it would be quite difficult to answer such a multifaceted question within the realm of a few simple statements but this is a small attempt at a response.

STUFF, lots of stuff...its all art, all poetry, all good...




poetic-parallels.cityslide.com

[ignorAmouse]

I realise that American Art has had a strong effect on European artists, arguably since the First World War and the exodus of European artists to the U.S. because of the Second World War, but what I'm interested in is the perceived extent that Modern American Art c1960 has had on Contemporary European Art.
I specialise in the Art of the 1960's onward in both America and Europe (predominantly British Art) and have increasingly seen a more conscious move to utilise American art from twenty/ thirty years ago in current art. Certainly the slant is different, but the lineage is clear to see.
Maybe I had not made myself clear enough, but I was interested in other's opinions about this concerning Art with a capital A and not 'art' in the wider commercial sense.
Commercialism can only do so much and I have to doubt whether it actually can educate the population adequately in order to understand Art proper.
Visual awareness is not remotely akin to understanding Art in a historical/ theoretical/ semiological way. Why else would the 'the general population' rail so vigorously against Contemporary Art, both in Britain and America (I include the art of the '60's to present under this heading). Art for the masses is Monet or the Mona Lisa - now a commercial artist and image respectively.
Art has to be more than commercialist or even political in order to remain 'Art'. In fact it is highly unlikely that Art can even make a strong political statement nowadays - it no longer has the cachet.
The effect of American culture on the World is not the issue, it's the effect of American Art exclusively.
Though it can be argued that Art is inextricably linked to Culture it also must necessarily maintain a seperateness in order not to become another form of advertising that will visually callous us to the true nature of Art in our present age.