In today's episode of Abyss & Tonic, our Communications and Media graduates Moldy and Vlad dive deep into the topics of modern pop stardom, contemporary art, and capitalism. Join us as we take a look at contemporary pop stars like Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, Katy Perry, MARINA, Lady Gaga, and Poppy, observing how they navigate ever-changing audience expectations of personal branding and image control in the digital age. The episode briefly covers legendary visual and performance artists including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Marina Abramović, Vincent van Gogh, and Francisco Goya, in order to examine audience response and shifting cultural perceptions of artists across generations. Finally, we unpack how the artist operates within modern capitalism, while taking on some of Karl Marx's foundational perspectives on labor and alienation, in order to observe the boundaries between cultural, personal, and monetary value, among which the creative industries and pop music production often find themselves. Please don't forget to follow or subscribe, leave a rating if you enjoyed it, and let us know your thoughts on the topic in the comments! Allyx's Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/12Pd1uNPgxY6yVQIG7buQI?si=RwEBqm-5Qf2__HnPv8zd6w Allyx's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allyx.official/ Follow our socials! Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AbyssAndTonic Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abyssandtonicpodcast TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@abyssandtonic Moldy: https://www.instagram.com/alamoldy Moldy's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@moldysnovella Vlad: https://www.instagram.com/vlahd_ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/abyss-and-tonic/id6790747080 Amazon:https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/d183c4bd-7ae4-483e-862d-b449bc8cb908/abyss-and-tonic Timestamps: (0:00:00) Intro (0:05:14) Today's music recommendations (Kraftwerk, Madonna) (0:09:12) Discussion starts ("Why is being an artists so scary?") (0:15:46) Moldy starts singing The Beast by Lady Gaga (0:16:58) Moldy talks about her perspective on writer branding (0:21:43) The artistic identity of MARINA clashing with Electra Heart (0:25:19) Sabrina Carpenter/Katy Perry's potential branding trap in comparison with Chappell Roan/Lady Gaga's potential for artistic growth (0:38:44) Art in capitalism and Karl Marx's perspective on alienation (0:50:16) Why does society discourage people from becoming artists (0:56:37) Visual artists and shifting cultural and monetary value placed on their works (Abramović, Basquiat, van Gogh, Goya) (1:06:07) Personal journeys with art, branding, and identity (1:15:39) Why Poppy is a genius at blending artistic extremes in her art (1:16:53) Outro + short silly singing session
