Art for A Minority

Most of the art in our society is unconsciously and consciously directed at only a small minority of people. 'Our' art dwells on the concerns of this small minority and is expressed in forms most relevant to this minority.

Some people have tried to break this tradition. They have brought their art into factories, the streets and holiday resorts, while attempting to deal with the concerns of ordinary people. They have found that the average New Zealander quite enjoys art. But still most of our artists aren't too concerned about that.

Art is supposed to concentrate and heighten the experiences of life. But most of our art is based on the life experiences of only a small minority. Because of this most of our art is useless to the majority of New Zealanders. Art as we know it is serving the interests of a small clique for it fails to serve the interests of the majority of New Zealanders. At the same time the average New Zealander has confirmed in practice the statement that he cannot comprehend art — an art that bears no relation to his life experience is not likely to be readily understood by him.

The unwritten code of the 'critics' ignores the question of 'for whom' in relation to art. Because critics never bother to question 'for whom', they hide the nature of our art — an individualist and pseudo-intellectual art that reflects the aspirations and concerns of only a small section of New Zealanders.