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May 26, 2005
What gets made, what gets seen
Justin Davidson of Newsday has a two-part exploration of the production and distribution shifts in the American arts system. The first article discusses the advancement of do-it-yourself productions by artists, often called 'vanity projects,' which attempt an end-run around the traditional gatekeepers of culture. The second piece wonders, in this increasingly decentralized world, who decides what's worth seeing.
It's the cultural version of a struggle and juggle that's happening in every communications industry these days...from television news to publishing to newspapers to weblogs. As the means of production get cheaper and better, and the distribution pipe gets larger, expect to see more identity crises among the old guard of what's good.
