Arts and Economics

One of my good friends did a double major in arts and economics. People thought it was an odd pairing but I always figured it kind of made sense. Perhaps I've been around too many economists who doodle when they're bored. Anyway, this post at my slice of pizza caught my eye:

Here is an evening. You hear Mort talk. He is a pioneer of electronic music from 60's, an early contributor to CalArts, and an incessant musical experimenter. You hear him say that if he'd do it all again, he would be an Economics major. Not because as an artist (or a scientist even) you need to know how to manage your image and make money, but because, in order to understand the world as it is, the people as they are, you have to understand Commerce. This has been true through the times, commerce has moulded Arts. Now with barrier to Arts low (many can shoot films and upload, far too many can write and publish, and far, far too many can mix music and dj) and attention splintered into niches, commerce seems everywhere in Arts. This is not a bad thing.