I know there's a word for this that I just can't remember
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Are you looking for mercinary? It is. It is not about art specifically.– DamilaCommented Feb 24, 2022 at 3:33
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1Please clarify your specific problem or provide additional details to highlight exactly what you need. As it's currently written, it's hard to tell exactly what you're asking.– Community BotCommented Feb 24, 2022 at 3:37
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1@Damila "Mercenary" is good but the OP could say "purely commercial" to be more specific.– BoldBenCommented Feb 24, 2022 at 6:06
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2 Answers
A noun for artistic work done purely for money is hackwork and the person responsible is a hack. Hack can also be used as an adjective to describe such work or the person who creates it.
Definitions of "hack" in Merriam-Webster include "a writer who works on order" and "a person who works solely for mercenary reasons". This seems to derive from an older meaning of a horse who was available for hire. Hack as an adjective can mean "working for hire especially with mediocre professional standards", "performed by or suited to a person who works or writes purely for the purpose of earning money : characteristic of a hack", "hackneyed, trite".
An example where it is used as an adjective is:
the abrupt revelation of an enemy masquerading as a friend is such a hack plot twist
Merriam-Webster defines hackwork as "literary, artistic, or professional work done on order usually according to formula and in conformity with commercial standards". Its example sentences include:
His oeuvre is full of hackwork: The pulps commonly paid by the word and Howard was happy to deliver words in bulk, allowing quantity to overwhelm quality.
And so, at least for the moment, there has been some respite on the bestseller lists from the usual insider politics hackwork.
There is a phrase Ars Gratia Artis, meaning art for he sake of art. It is the motto of MGM although they didn't invent it.
A fairly obvious inversion of this is Ars gratia pecuniae, translation Art for the sake of money.
Many people have come up with this phrase.
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Any justification for the assertion that many have come up with such a phrase? A contrived latinism is hardly English usage.– AntonCommented Feb 24, 2022 at 8:31
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A google search returns a quarter million hits with numerous different people having thought of it independently. Examples: 1) davidperlstein.com/ars-gratia-pecuniae 2) content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,911883,00.html 3) classicmoviehub.com/facts-and-trivia/star/stan-freberg/page/1– PeteCommented Feb 24, 2022 at 8:47
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