It's Paper Time Again

I am taking a class where the ultimate goal is to write an 8 to 10 page research paper by the end of the semester and the first rough draft is due tomorrow. I don't mind writing research papers, but it has been a while since I've had to write one and I'm having difficulty organizing my thoughts without being repetitive and overly flowery. I read this article a while ago (I don't even remember where now) about how some people think that the bad economy will generate some sort of "artistic Renaissance" and weed out all the overly commercial art. The theory is that if there aren't as many patrons for artists, they will start focusing on what they want to do and their own ideas, as opposed to making things for other people. I found it very interesting because if you think about it, this is not the first time that this has happened in the history of art One of the first examples that comes to mind (mainly because of Italian Cinema last semester) is Neorealism in Italian Cinema. It appeared after the WWII and introduced the style of filming on location and often using non professional actors. It captured life in a war torn country and its devastation.

I've been researching lately and I feel my topic is going even further than the development of a new artistic movement. There are quite a few news articles about how the economic crisis is hitting the art world pretty hard and the unemployment rate of artists "is twice that of other professional groups," according to Agnes Gund the President Emerita and Chairman of the International Council of MoMA. Lots of articles talk about how during the Depression the WPA generated created a lot of jobs for artists and they are wondering why something like that cannot be instituted today. More or less it has broadened my focus to different aspects of the situation and I'm actually enjoying doing the research since it is an extremely current and relevant issue, especially as an art student.

I know exactly what I want to talk about, but I'm having a hard time finishing the ideas I have because there isn't really aren't any conclusions to come to except that we will have to wait and see what happens. Nonetheless, it should be interesting enough to write.

From Rome Open City (Rome Citta Aperta) by Roberto Rossellini