I think it is generally the canonic view that modernism in art began when artists had to find or create audiences for their work in the late 18C. The usual patronage sources, Church and State, were vanishing. This the artists could be said to be alienated which is to say that did not have a productive place in society. wc
----- Original Message ---- From: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> To: [email protected]; [email protected] Sent: Sun, November 14, 2010 9:23:22 PM Subject: Re: "There's more alienation and separation of people in a commodified landscape ... In a message dated 11/14/10 10:09:18 PM, [email protected] writes: > A commodity is something whose exchange value is greater than its use > value - > part of this imbalance is sustained by commodity fetishism in which we > attribute status or well being to things > That would certainly apply to religious paintings. That would mean that possibly the original premise ("Commodification of art has shaped artistic production itself and, far from being immune from it, artists have grappled with alienation since the middle of the 19th century at least.") was not clearly thought out,since if alienation and commodification go hand in hand,then commodification of religious paintings would alienate their makers of any period. What is supposed to be the meaning of alienation in this quoted statement? Kate Sullivan
