"$20,000" is a combination of a travel journal (via the United Kingdom, and whatever that means to a British citizen), aesthetics, art, pop music, and the hard-to-answer question "what is an artist?" Bill Drummond is a man of great charm, but I find it a bit of a head scratcher why he's so interested in the subject matter of "Artist" in today's culture. For one he seems to fighting the public image of an artist, which seems to me kind of silly. I understand the concerns and the problems that goes with those concerns, but art is really like breathing. Even the most intellectual of artists Marcel Duchamp questioned the role of the artist in contemporary times. And there is also a guilt feeling from Drummond regarding the money worth of such art or the making of art with respect to the financial world.
And also to reach the "common" man and woman while doing art. The beauty of pop music is an art form that is attracted to the masses. A painting can reach a lot of people, but it doesn't have the same affect as a commercially pop song. But the mediums are so different, that I think its hard to compare the two.
Drummond came from an art background and then went into music making and its business. And I think it is the business aspect of music as well as the visual arts that fascinates him. And in turn it becomes his 'art'.
The question is it good art? Drummond thinks a lot about this, but I think its impossible to answer because art is very subjective. It means different things to different people. You can define an aesthetic or theory on a page, but still people will react in their own ways towards a piece of music or art on a wall. Drummond is also very British in that he thinks what other citizens will react to his work. He's very funny, thoughtful, and I kind of disagree in how he looks at art - but I am happy to spend some time with him while he searches his soul and inner-thoughts on the subject of the role of the artist.
