More on Patricia Martin's RenGen, and the careers of artists

Patricia Martin also notes in her interview that the Renaissance Generation, regarding their involvement in art and creative work, "doesn’t have the same negative notions about commercial work.... Rather than waiting 30 years to see if the Museum of Modern Art finds their work worthy, they will shoot a 30-second spot for DDB Needham [a highly-ranked advertising agency]....They are also incredibly savvy about when they are being marketed to, so you cannot lie to them." They're market-savvy and artistic, and so likely have a knack for creating advertising that is more honest and interesting. This means artists can find steady company work that is also somewhat artistically fulfilling. I think you see ads that have more artistically advanced cinemotography and concepts all the time; artists undoubtedly have value in the commercial world. (Examples: AmEx, Cadillac)

Strategy-wise, the advertising industry has recently engaged in a blurring of the line between advertisement and entertainment. As I first learned in a marketing class back in undergrad, advertising is becoming so easy for consumers to bypass, traditional ads don't work anymore. One tactic to solve this is product placement. Another is to make ads that become a form of entertainment in themselves. I think good examples of this are recent commercials featuring new musicians/songs (Hilton features Brett Dennen, Old Navy features Ingrid Michaelson, Jeep features Steve Poltz.) Other companies generate web content so good that the consumer is driven to seek out the ad, often sharing it with friends (example: Axe Body Spray). Who is contributing to these ads? Artists, whether hopeful filmmakers, musicians, or script writers.

Artists not opposed to commercial employment can find a home in this line of work, as Martin suggests they would be good at, and as the market now demands more creative advertising.

Martin goes on to observe, however, that "Unlike their parents, who would have stayed at the [advertising] agency, [young artists] will use that money to fund their independent documentary." It's a good market match: artists need jobs to make money to finance future independent work, and advertising companies need creative workers (and probably don't mind high turnover for fresh ideas). And that takes us back to the role of entrepreneurship. If they navigate ways to financially achieve their own work earlier in their careers, we may see artists finding success and being recognized for their own work at a younger age. The change in technology, affecting our attention spans, and thus advertising strategies, may have further-reaching effects on artists' careers than we realize.