The collective is greater than the corporation - Artists against the machine

There are billions of dollars, euros, and pounds all being spent to tell you something, to sell you something, to set your expectations one way and raise your hackles the other. The GDP of a small nation is swung at you to ensure you buy another variant of an album by the latest variation of a manufactured pop star.

A group of titans stands atop us, demanding ever more of our space, and that we pay a subscription for the privilege of what little we have left.

So what difference can your art, your ideas make against such a monolith. What point is there in your blog post, poem, painting or picture. What good could one anonymous pamphlet do when faced with the resources of a monarchy? Well in 1775 Thomas Paine believed their pamphlet could do a great deal of good, and he was not cowed by fear of ridicule or even death, he did not give himself over to a hopelessness that those in power would happily sell him.

The 47 page piece entitled “Common Sense” went further than any other call thus far in demanding outright independence for America from the monarchy. It would later be called by one historian “the most incendiary and popular pamphlet of the entire revolutionary era”

Paines work was not some great gilt piece of finery, it was a far cry from the illuminated manuscripts of royal decrees and charters. It used language its audience was familiar with, assuaging haughty intellectualism, instead following the rhythm and flow of the sermons which they would be used to. It made its ideas approachable, understandable, it made liberty tangible and enticing with a balanced mix of dramatic calls and a focus on the individual.

It was a simple, affordable pamphlet that showed a keen awareness of its audience in every way. Paine had it republished at every opportunity, he even timed its initial publication to coincide with the Kings address to the colony, providing a stark contrast between a voice of the people and a voice directed at the people.

If the photocopier had existed back then I have no doubts Paine would have been stapling together zines of “common sense” and distributing them everywhere from punk squats to village pubs. He was quite clearly aware of the effective communication of an idea, and understood power is not solely the purview of those who pay for it.

This brings me rather neatly on to my next example, ‘The Newsstand’ by Saveri. In 2013 Saveri would take over a dilapidated stand in the Brooklyn subway system, for 8 months this space would see the interplay and exchange of ideas across a broad creative scope. Anyone could come and submit material for the stand, from lapel pins to poems, pizza reviews zines and political comics, this newsstand would lend them all the credence and credibility of any other such setting. Putting the individual on the same play field as the powerful publications.

It was a beautiful reminder of the artistry in the individual, a celebration of creation and the connection this breeds. It captured more of what it is to live and experience life than a thousand mass produced high gloss professionally photographed overpriced pages. It holds a stark lesson in its reinforcing of the notion that you do not need an excessive budget, an on trend marketable topic, or an institution to collate, create, and come together around an idea.

We are all capable of creation and holding space for one another’s creative output, we do not need to be sold this by a conglomerate, in fact we can outright outwrite them, outdesign them, and most certainly outthink them, now more than ever.