Art and Culture are one of the factors that give opportunities to showcase talent, to celebrate, to get united. The purpose of art and culture is different for each and every artist. The consumers of the art have the choice to choose the type of art they want to consume . The purpose of art in today’s world is split according to the factors of development. More developed countries artists have space to deep dive in the minor details of art.
They showcase colors, shapes and every detail of it. While on the other side the developing nations artists have a thing in their mind: My art needs to showcase a social cause. A developing country has more social issues compared to a developed nation. A list provided by the Education Envoy on the issues faced by different countries included all the developing countries.
While the consumers have the choice of choosing what sort of art to consume the artists who create the art also have the choice to decide what form of art should they create.
A place from where they belong to as an identity affects their decision. An article from US News website stated which countries have the most cultural influence. This list included developed nations like Italy, France, US, Japan, Spain, UK, South Korea, Switzerland, Germany, Australia. This cultural influence reveals how people are more keen to follow the developed countries’ art and culture.
The books that I have read so far from US (developed country) writers are fiction like Harry Potter, where the writer thinks beyond imagination and creates a beautiful concept. While many of the books that I have read like The Kite Runner from Afghanistan (developing country) writers are about wars which states the reality through an admiring story. The most popular genres in the US are romance, crime and thriller, self-help, young adult, fantasy and scientific fiction(The Urban Writers). The best books written by Afghan Authors include genres like fiction, non-fiction, memoirs and historical accounts (Cultural Reads).
Harry Potter has till date sold more than 600 million copies. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini has sold over 10 million copies worldwide. Both of the works were brilliant. Then what caused the difference in the number of copies sold? The chart by Pew Research Centre reveals the why. Overall most people like reading for happiness, satisfaction and productivity. Very few of them share that understanding the reality was one of the reasons for reading.
Art can be a really powerful tool through which social issues could be addressed. For example the Unilever protest rap video that caused the company to take actions because it went viral. The audience has the power to use this art to bring social change. But many people stop themselves from exploring this type of art because they feel it stresses them more. My friends often prefer watching entertainment videos as they burst their stress but do not prefer watching video stories that showcase societal problems.
An influencer who makes reels has over a million followers and on the other hand cartoonists like Satish Acharya who makes political and social cartoons has over 2 lakh followers. But the mistake that people often make is a hasty generalization that this art does not have any pleasure. The art developed for showcasing a cause also has its colors and shapes. You just need to absorb it and follow it. Art is like colors, in fact it is about colors. These colors have different purposes. The artist has the choice of choosing their own color. The viewers have the choice to symbolize these colors.