As a creative person, what do you think about "branding"? Do you need a brand? Do you want to be branded?
I just put out this question earlier today, and the responses have been coming in. Here's one from Lori Agostino:
I see branding as a way to dumb down an Artist, just as it has dumbed down our society. If an artist could be "branded", i.e. summed up in a word, image, etc. then they are no longer about creating, but about selling. Having a brand means you have to continually acknowledge it, push it and sell it...for an artist you will end up producing the same thing, over and over...so that you get "brand recognition", a very important component of branding. To me, branding is the death of ART and the beginning of ADVERTISING. In society we are so affected by branding that we now think it is an option for ARTISTS...a testament to how effective it is and yet, branding really is an American Phenomena...no where else in the world do you have so many brands used as the noun for a product...Coca-Cola, Band-Aid, etc...
Why as Artists would we want to become a brand??? The only benefit I can see is to be a recognizable entity that generates sales and money. If you want money over your art, then get into advertising. If you think as an artist that branding is what will make you better known, well perhaps it will, but it won't make your art better, it'll only make your art a slave to the brand. And as Frederick Douglas said, "I didn't know I was a slave until I found out I couldn't do the things that I wanted"!
Good thoughts! And a contrary view from Etan Boritzer:
Absolutely need branding today! The names DALAI LAMA, TOM WOLFE, CALVIN KLEIN, WARHOL, etc are brands! And we want the name PETER CLOTHIER to become a brand. Just commercial reality, whether we like it or not..."
Hmmmm....
Lots of Tweets coming in. I'll post some tomorrow.
PS I love the Tweets, but also welcome the longer stuff. You can do that easily on Facebook. Or just use the email address in the sidebar to your right...
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