The Fight for Authenticity

Posted by Erika Templeton on January 29 at 10:15 AM
In a recent trip to MoMA, I discovered the art of Tim Burton and the world of PR have more in common than one might think.

Since I began interning at DMD Insight in October, my views on the world of art, design and public relations have changed as my perspective has widened. I spent the past three years focusing on journalism, and was always at the receiving end of press releases asking for my coverage.

Now I suddenly find myself in the midst of the industry, thinking about art and product, and how to garner attention and promote a cause. Design means more than something to look at and report on, and my experience with it has quickly become an interactive process.

It was with this new mentality that I found myself at the Tim Burton exhibit at MoMA two weeks ago.

Getting in to exhibit itself was like slipping past the ropes of a chic new club, albeit a little spooky. An astonishing ten thousand people came for opening day, and the droves of visitors have only died down to throngs since then.

The first time I tried to go was on New Year’s Eve, when the city was packed with tourists and the exhibit was sold out. Unwilling to pay scalpers $30 for a ticket (Was this an art show or a rock concert?), I resolved to come back in the new year.

It is fitting that before returning to the exhibit, I stumbled upon an article by Aaron Sagers titled “Publicity Ploy or Actual Art?” in which Sagers observed the collection’s pop-cultural appeal, and noted, “there will be grumbles that commercialism and publicity have supplanted actual art.”

That supposed dichotomy strikes home as I find myself newly embedded in the world of public relations. It is easy to write off a press release as a shallow vie for attention, a euphemism for a sales pitch, in the same way that it is easy to write off the pop culture industry when considering “real” art.

This, like most things black and white, is an over simplification.

Tim Burton has blurred the line between commercial and fine art. His paintings and sculptures are also paraphernalia, and his exhibit is a PR department’s dream for Disney, Warner Bros., and any other studio that has produced his films—and vice versa.

Would Burton have been famous if there weren’t major production companies and millions of PR/ad dollars backing him up? Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean his work is any less valuable.

The MoMA exhibit shows Burton’s progress through a portentous childhood (e.g. making stop motion films of invisible-tricycle races with losers who burst into flame), to a prolific career in witty, macabre film and animation. All the while it is clear, Burton was sure of his message, confident in style, and deliberate in approach.

His popularity does not change these facts. If Tim Burton had never produced a single film, the exhibit on display would be just as amusing and surprising. His fame and success do not mean he has sold out, but rather validate his art and confirm its value.

As I walked through the exhibit amidst a crowd as large and unwieldy as the 700-piece display, I asked myself, “where does the real value in this work lie?” I realized it is not in the ticket sales for the Corpse Bride, or how many copies of Beetlejuice can still get sold in a year. Nor is it the “brush with fame” some might feel when getting close enough to touch the original Edward Scissorhands costume.

The real value is in the mind of the artist. It is Burton’s original ideas and individual craft, and his unique execution.

Tim Burton managed to define a style, over the course of a plethora of pieces, which is entirely his own, easily distinguished and never to be repeated. You can put any dollar amount you want on those individual works, and put it in the pockets of as many shareholders as you can find, but that –the mind of the artist—can not be bought.

Working at DMD Insight, I have come to understand the same thing about our clients. Architecture and design blurs the line between art and product, much like Tim Burton’s work. It demands a balance between form and function.

The foundation of my work lies in a deep appreciation for the blending of these values. I find myself drawn to the minds of innovative designers, and I enjoy contributing to their cause. This genuine excitement proves there can be truth in advertising, and vying for attention is only a result of passion.
Topics: arts and culture, public relations        SHARE: