High vs. Low art

4 qualities by which we judge the status of aesthetics

Jon Robinson
Art Direct
Published in
8 min readJul 19, 2020

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An illustration of a street art fair
Art Fair by ranganath krishnamani

The concept of higher and lower art forms can be traced back to the 18th century, when critics first began to draw a divisive line between art that was created as a means of aesthetic expression (fine art) and art that was utilitarian in nature (craft). Art forms like painting, sculpture, and music were held in higher regard, and therefore became the accepted art forms to be appreciated by those with high taste. Conversely, anything that was available to the masses and easily comprehensible by all was regarded as a lower form.

Things like film and beer were once considered lowbrow, but eventually achieved highbrow status. At one time only classical forms of music were respected by the elite, as opposed to jazz: The music of the lower class. Today, almost all forms of music are praised as high art. But as culture shifted and access to both higher and lower art forms became more widespread, the division in the fine arts continued (and continues) to remain intact.

A graffiti portrait of LL Cool J
Once considered a low form of art, hip hop now receives critical praise. Photo by BP Miller on Unsplash

Why? Where does the line between high and low forms of art exist during the Information age when everything is quickly and widely disseminated…

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Jon Robinson
Art Direct

Head of Design and Research at Pager. Author of You Are Not an Artist: A Candid Guide to the Business of Being a Designer.