Peggy Heer on sat 14 sep 96
>
>From:p4337@connect.ab.ca
>Subject:Teaching, business, our livelihoods
>
>Hi Guys...Thought this post might be of interest to the list....It is a
>bit long but worth the read....As Always in Clay Peggy who just got back
>from a great and very needed holiday...
>A second post will follow regarding the last quiry.....
>--------------------------------------------
>
>
>>For the list ( something from the Globe arts section) is an article which I
>>find very interesting/disturbing, particularly in light of the questions
>>from Cheryl:
>>
>>>So much of what an artist must face economically, is beyond their own
>>>control. Whether there are customers for their art will depend on the
>>>economy and on the artist's location.
>>
>>>What do you tell your students about a career in art?
>>
>>>Cheryl
>>
>>>>I am getting ready to go back to teaching in another week and am working
>>>>very hard to be positive about the prospect of a career as an artist so
>>>>that I may instill that in the students arriving at my door. TH (I believe)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>MAGICIANS OF THE ART WORLD CAST SPELL - Ydessa Hendeles, Globe and Mail Sat
>>Aug 31, 96
>>
>>Like sÎx, the art market is a source of fascination and bewilderment,
>>confounding not only the public, but also the critics, cura, artists
>>collectors and even the . Everybody in the art community ' does itn _ though
>>few understand it. Nevertheless, the art market continues to thrive--even in
>>Toronto, despite rwnours otherwiÎ. The public wonders how art can be so
>>expensive when the market is so small. Even our most respected writers are
>>mystified by the market, believing that either more or less action is
>>happening. John Bentley Mays recently described the hot pursuit of an
>>international sculptor as "the cloÎst thing to fox-humting," evidently
>>unaware that the sizzle far exceeded the sales. Writing about a historically
>>important photographer, he conjured him into a "darling of the art market.n
>>With few works available, and the artist gone, there is not and never has
>>been much of a market developed for his work.
>> It would seem logical that muÎum stars and major historical figures would
>>also be darlings of the market. But that is not how th~s market functions.
>>In art, appearances are deceptive. Art markets are not innate, existing by
>>artistic contribution alone, but must be cleverly created. The art world is
>>full of contradictions What does one make of a market that doesn't seem
>>real, though serious money certainly changes hands? Or does it?
>> Robert Fulford explored the market here and concluded that sales in many
>>shows are "dead,~ because prices are generally set too high, from earlier
>>government support. But, curiously, dealers and artists refuse to reduce
>>them. In his column in The Globe and Mail of Aug. 14, The Artifice of Prices
>>in the Art Market Economy, his prognosis is dire: With prices artificially
>>inflated and never lowered, the local art market is "not, really, a market,n
>>because it does not conform to the laws of "supply and demand.'~
>>Furthermore, "boxed in by history, pride and professional obligations,n
>>artists and dealers are now doomed to "pray for better times.n
>> Without a context for how the art market works, the general reader is
>>likely to come away with the impression that art markets elsewhere make
>>sense, while local markets are a sham. Neither is true. Art does not sell
>>easily anywhere, and, except for a freakish moment in the eighties, never
>>has. Were it not for "artifice," which Fulford criticized, the art market
>>would not exist.
>> Many artists' markets have not been created or effectively perpetuated.
>>But is the local situation grave? The impressive accomplishments of
>>cutting-edge dealers like Olga Korper, Jared Sable and others, who
>>repeatedly sell out shows every season, confirm that art markets here are
>>indeed being developed successfully and sustained. Toronto's vanguard art
>>market is not destitute. Dealers continue to function, paying their rents,
>>living good lives and supporting a number of Canadian artists with no other
>>source of income. The Emperor is wearing clothes.Which is not to say the
>>~tailors" are ~L not using myth, manipulation and showmanship. Artifice is,
>>and has always been, the reality of art markets everywhere. New York-style
>>art dealing is especially effective in promoting work: The dealer receives
>>paintings year-round from artists, offering them, to a select "inner circle"
>>of curators and collectors. When enough works are accumulated (and sold),
>>the show goes on. Casual observers sense the buzz and might be tempted to
>>participate in what is a glamorous, carefully staged event. They consider
>>buying a work, but can't.
>> So develops a waiting list and the beginning of a courtship between seller
>>and purchaser. The dealer uses the opportunity to entice the potential,
>>client into becoming more serious.L, Then, once he purchases something,, he
>>soon realizes that the best works cannot be had from that gallery with- .
>>out possessing a good collection. An important work must win the artist -
>>enhanced credibility by its placement, to generate future sales. Up goes the
>>ante.
>> Desire ignited, the power dynamics of the dealer and purchaser proceed:
>>Coveted works might be coyly withheld, to motivate a collector to become a
>>more valued client. Collectors and museums may be pitted against one
>>another, heightening competition. Dealers might secretly bid up the auction
>>prices of their artists, to defend their markets. It is political and
>>treacherous -- a cast of characters playing a game of desire, making moves
>>that in any other field would land the players in jail. However, the
>>manipulations are forgiven, because, of all the luxury markets, none is so
>>fragile as the contemporary art market. Based on faith, it would never exist
>>at all, were it not protected by idiosyncratic controls like artifice.
>> The sale of art involves only some elements of the marketplace. Art prices
>>are not completely vulnerable to the weather report of economic conditions.
>>Talented dealers can create an aura around an artist, regardless of the
>>times, if he or she is well supported by a consensus of artists, curators,
>>critics, dealers and key collectors, and especially, the media. But each
>>sector must come through. The only ground-breaking artist whose work has
>>ever been based on "supply and demand' is Jasper Johns. Every other artist's
>>market is fully manipulated and controlled. The art market * a market, but
>>with different rules and problems. Unlike real estate and cars, where
>>existing desire is harnessed, art dealers have to create desire in the
>>comparatively few people even interested. Art must therefore be marketed
>>with myth, magic and mirrors to seduce people to part with money to purchase
>>it and keep culture alive. Cost and risk become elements of the appeal.
>>Acquiring that first expensive work is a little like losing your virginity.
>>But once you've paid a whopper price for something in the heat of desire,
>>it's not that hard to do it again. Good dealers are master
>>suitors--persuasive enough to convince you that falling in love with art and
>>spending big money on it is really not crazy. Prominent people and major
>>museums do it. Because part of buying art is the cachet of being able to
>>afford it, consumer-friendly prices don't actually work. It is a fiction
>>that more purchasers might buy challenging art were it cheaper. If it is
>>inexpensive, people don't think it's worth much. Many people can afford a
>>$40,000 painting, if they save up for it, as they do for a car, or a house.
>>One could possibly forgo the country cottage to purchase a significant
>>sculpture. Ultimately, it's a matter of personal values. In a market
>>premised on passion, where even museum curators encourage collectors to buy,
>>Fulford's focus on figures is like suddenly turning on fluorescent lights
>>just before orgasm, to measure the equipment of copulation. Such matters are
>>irrelevant indeed dangerous to criticize. In the name of saving the art
>>market, the sustaining aura is lost. The art world is not a place of
>>reality. Art is not bricks and mortar. It is theatre. The appropriate
>>expense for art can be no more evaluated objectively than romantic love or
>>the ethics of another culture. One is simply a believer or non-believer in
>>the value of purchasing art. It may be accurate to diagnose the art market
>>as psychotic, having no connection to the real world of prices.
>>Fortunately--just like falling in love--such insanity will likely continue,
>>ensuring the survival of the art market.
>>
>>
>>Ydessa Hendeles is Canada's foremost collector of contemporary art. She
>>curates exhibitions from her developing collection for the Ydessa Hendeles
>>Art Foundation. A privately funded charitable organization she founded
>>in 1988.
>>Justin Wonnacott, artist/teacher specializing in photography who also
>>undertakes writing and curatorial projects My website is called Aregeebee
>>at: http://infoweb.magi.com/~justinwo/
>>Child=mabel,dog=shirley,cat=comet,beloved wife is Judy.
>>
>>Lewis Hine once said something to this effect << while we know that the
>>camera does not lie, liars can be photographers>>
>>
>>Somewhat later, Mr. Cobain from Nirvana said:
>>
>>" they travelled far to fill their bellies and lived on arts and crafts"
>>
>
Peggy Heer / Heer Pottery E-Mail p4337@connect.ab.ca
Edmonton AB, Canada
http://www.ffa.ucalgary.ca/artists/pheer/
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