It's time to rethink our ideas on highbrow and lowbrow art

The grasp of control that the upper crust had over the art world loosened, much to their dismay, and in order to preserve the culture and prestige of before, began to differentiate between art of high value and art of low value – with low value being predicated on its base appeal and access to a wider populace.

Louis XIV and His Family, 1711: Art was once the domain of the aristocracy and upper class, influencing modern ideas of highbrow art (Image: Nicolas de Largillière)
The concept of value in the arts is still defined and shaped largely by bourgeois values. We have brought a lot of these expectations and norms into our futuristic modern world, yet it is out of step with how we engage with, enjoy, and understand art now.

As it stands today, it makes far more sense to judge the value of art by looking at its intentions. All modern art will be pushed to commodity, but a genuine piece of artistic expression will not solely be a product made for the marketplace. Is the appeal in the realms of the human spirit or is it calculated to be put on a balance sheet?

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Let’s look at a recent art form that doesn’t carry the expectational baggage of artistic forms of the past. Can rap music ever be considered highbrow? Does the fact that it is a visceral form of street art that chronicles ideas, thoughts, and events from a disadvantaged minority reduce its value as art? That’s quite a problematic position to take, putting barriers and expectations between different groups of expression and favouring the view of the privileged group.

We can look to the rapper that most people would consider an exception to “disposable” rap culture: Kendrick Lamar. Lamar is one of the most celebrated artists of the 21st century. Critics and journalists heap praise upon him obsessively, almost to the exclusion of any other artist operating in the space.

He is the only rapper and non-jazz or classical musician to ever win a Pulitzer Prize. Lamar’s music is textually complex, with heady layers of meaning waiting to be uncovered. He not so much conveys his struggles directly as most rappers do, but acts as an intellectual observer who floats above the fracas, only participating to reiterate lessons and morals. Through this, he can be handled in the same framework as more critically engaged with ‘highbrow’ artists, where many of his rhyming contemporaries fail to be considered.

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As a counterpoint, consider Chicago rapper Chief Keef. The video for his 2012 breakout single “I Don’t Like” saw a 16-year-old Keef and his crew performing in his grandmother’s living room, a consequence of his house arrest for intent to distribute heroin.

As Keef has grown up, so too has his artistry. Over time, Keef has explored deeply with sonics and has a fearlessness unaffected by the trends and norms of what’s happening around him. He has reached a level of creative sophistication that few in rap music ever reach, yet he lacks the textual complexity of Lamar, remaining rooted in frank, simple street language. The value of his work could easily be compared, but the context and presentation prevent it from being seen as so. Keef is still considered a lowbrow artist, while Lamar has broken through into the accolades of the artistic elite.

When we look at traditional highbrow arts like opera, theatre, and classical music, things are also different. The current conditions of art have produced a watering down from their original pedestal, where the model of wealthy benefactors that sustained these arts has withered and commerce has become a consideration. These arts often now operate in the marketplace the same as everything else.

As a means of survival, they have broadened their appeal and reach, but if even traditionally considered highbrow arts could be seen as swimming in the lowbrow depths, is there really much of a case now that highbrow art even exists anymore?

Culture is always evolving but very rarely, if ever, does it start anew. The value of a work hinges on perspective yet we are still willing to hold onto antiquated constructs that limit our perception and stop us from looking for and seeing intricacies and sophistication that might not be immediately obvious. Perhaps it’s time we finally do away with these barriers and become much more conscientious in all of our artistic experiences.