Jonathan Adler and the Business of art

My post for this week is about the pottery of Jonathan Adler. Adlers works are playful, many seem to flavored with a touch of cynicism and sarcastic humor. Others are just plain fun. By looking at the forms it seems as though most of them have been slip cast, though the orange piece is thrown. I also find the geometric perfection and repetition of some of the vases quite impressive. Adler seems to be a big name in contemporary pottery and interior design. I don't know how I feel about this though. At what point does an artist become a brand name as well? Like say Jeff Kuntz or Thomas (gagging noise) Kincade for example. I guess Andy Warhol was able to, but it somehow seems more pure when he did it. Can making art and making your work a brand name coexist? Or do you sacrifice originality when your work becomes a brand? On the other hand though, maybe in the end the best critique of the commercial system is to wholeheartedly accept the system to the nth, so that your work and business practices, are, in a way, a sarcastic commentary on the commercial art market, and life in general. . .