Art for the 99 Percent
Rich kids are way more likely to grow up to be artists. And that's because capitalism doesn't give us all the freedom to reach our creative potentials.
The artwork by John Baldessari “Ear Sofa; Nose Sconces with Flowers (in Stage Setting)” is displayed during the press preview for Art Basel at Basel Messe on June 13, 2017 in Basel, Switzerland.Harold Cunningham / Getty
If your family is wealthy, you’re more likely to become an artist. Quelle surprise.
That’s according to a study published in February by professor Karol Jan Borowiecki of the University of Southern Denmark. By examining reams of US Census data going all the way back to 1850, Borowiecki’s research identifies and documents various trends — demographic, geographic, and socioeconomic — in the development of the creative professions.
The key takeaways aren’t particularly astonishing, but still make for interesting reading, given the meticulous levels of detail involved in quantifying them. In Borowiecki’s words:
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