Legacy of Beauty: Business and Art Working Together

There has historically been much friction between business and art. The main reason for this is that business and art are based on much different methodologies. Business looks for the bottom line; art looks toward the imagined or the etherial. Business demands constant consistent attention; art follows inspiration. Business requires consistency; art moves from one inspiration to another. But really there is something very significant in common between entrepreneurship and art, and that is as follows: Both demand creative and innovative thinking.

For this reason I have come to believe that it should be possible for business world and art world, both being possessors of this capability, to work together. And the best way to do this is as follows: Create a cultural ethic of beauty. That way, beautiful architecture, beautiful machinery, beautiful building interiors, beautiful cafes and restaurants, will be produced by artists in the employ of businessmen. And the result will be more places around the world looking like Paris or Barcelona.

In 1920s, this is exactly what happened. The 1920s skyscrapers, 1920s cars and even 1920s phones were beautifully designed. 1920s was one of the greatest eras of prosperity in the history of humanity, and unlike 1980s or 1990s it did not militate against art or against beauty. Instead businessmen worked with artists to create a legacy of embodied beauty that remains admired until this day.

Instead it can be said that, while business fufills human productive potential, art fulfills human creative potential. And these two should be able to get along and to work together instead of fighting each other all the time. 

The result will be a production of beautiful architecture, beautiful machinery and beautiful objects all around. And that will benefit the memory of the living as much as it will benefit both the artist and the entrepreneur.