On the pernicious influence of modern financial institutions on the content and form of contemporary art - in the excerpt from the book by a Columbia University professor Mark Taylor, published by Bloomberg

Art and money have always gone hand in hand. 40 years ago, Andy Warhol (Andy Warhol) said: "Commercial art - this is a new stage in the development of Art." Over the past few decades, however, the traditional balance of power in This question has been violated by the evolution of capitalism and the emergence of his new variety - of financial capitalism., writes Columbia University professor Mark Taylor (Mark C. Taylor) in her new book, which published an excerpt from Bloomberg.

In the previous forms of capitalism - agricultural, industrial and consumer - explains Taylor - the money earned through the implementation of labor and products of material production. With financial capitalism, wealth is created through symbolic movements of non-cash, for which it is not necessary any material objects. When the investment processes are becoming more aggressive, the speed of this motion increases and fickle indicators, indicating the well-being go up.

art market mirrors the structure and development of financial markets. art of becoming more and more abstract game of devastated character - just as abstract tools of financial markets have become an autonomous region that has no purpose other than itself. When the economy goes everywhere from the industrial and consumer capitalism to financial capitalism, parallel to the art of undergoing similar changes. This process has three stages: the transformation of Art in the commodity, the monopolization of corporate art and its commercialization.

When Andy Warhol (Andy Warhol) has announced the art business, but business - art, he only formulated what has become a reality for the post-war culture of consumerism. In those years the center of the art world shifted from Europe to New York, United States also became a major world economy and largest military power. Works great part of the greatest artists of the era explored both the dominion and praise American values ​​and power in local and global . It is no accident that Warhol was the object of his study of the creative images and symbols of consumer culture, and it is through them spoke of the pitfalls of consumer capitalism and the transformation of art into a product that is advertised and promoted a whole new industry - the thriving gallery system.

With the growing prosperity of the art, collecting items which had largely been the lot of the church and the aristocracy, became a kind of socially significant marker for people who want to rise above the middle class. However, even such a visionary businessman from art as Andy Warhol could not have foreseen that explosion, which occurs because of this, the art market at the turn of the millennium.

By 2006, private transactions in the art market were made by about 25-30 billion a year. Open tenders have also been remarkably successful: Christie's and Sotheby's in 2006, two have earned $ 12 billion. In addition, more than two dozen galleries around the world began to sell works of art for $ 100 million per year each.

The phenomenal growth of the art market has become a global phenomenon: global capitalism has created a global art market. From 2002 to 2006 the art market has more than doubled - from $ 25.3 billion to 54.9 billion. This amazing leap has been made possible thanks to the young markets of Russia, China, India and the Middle East. Prices on works of art were growing at the same rate as the value of the securities.

In 2006, Ronald Lauder (Ronald Lauder), Honorary Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Museum MoMA, bought the work of Klimt's "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer 1" for 135 million dollars - the most at that time, the high price paid for a work of art. A year later, "Suspended heart" by Jeff Koons (Jeff Koons) were sold at auction for 23.6 million dollars, becoming the most expensive at the time the work of living artists.

It was Jeff Koons, says Mark Taylor - a perfect example of the artist, where you can learn how art became a commodity. All the best achievements of Warhol's Factory took over the factory Koons, a team of staff embodies the idea of ​​any author, whether pornographic or giant statues flower puppies. After Warhol, who in defiance of the abstract expressionist rather erase from his work all the living presence of the artist's hand, Koons is fully mechanized process of creating works of art.

However, between Koons and Warhol is a significant difference: the art of Koons is not filled with irony, like the work of Warhol. While the works of Warhol's alarming, Koons works are full of optimism. dedicating their works to banal subjects and unabashedly confessing ignorance of art history, Koons is more like a coach on positive thinking than Marcel Duchamp, which relate Warhol. "I realized that we do not need to know something, and I think that my works have reported that the viewer - Koons once said in an interview. - I just try to do things that will help people with a positive look at themselves, their history, their full potential. "It's amazing how many seemingly intelligent and with a subtle taste of people fall for the bait that the former broker.

Having the skill of currency transactions, Koons moved to the perceived skills and exchange in the sphere of art. His quality of work produced turned into precious objects, artistic significance of which is expressed in rapidly growing indexes of their liquidity.

The process of monopolization of corporate art includes two trends: first, over the past two decades, many large corporations are put into practice the old tradition as a world to raise his own prestige at the expense of purchase and display works of art. Very often, to establish and expand their collections companies hire special advisers and consultants.

In addition, a number of artists, businessmen brought in full compliance with the covenants of Andy Warhol, the concept of the corporation to a work of art. most interesting illustration of this process can be called a work of Japanese Takashi Murakami (Takashi Murakami). As an artist, he combines his work high and low, to create their own brand of giant sculptures and "super slim" extensive use of images of paintings by pop culture. However, the most interesting work of Murakami is probably created by his business , which is almost indistinguishable from the majority of media companies, pr-agencies and corporations. In 2001 he created Kaikai Kiki Co., a company which now employs about 70 people. At the company's website states that its purpose is "the creation and promotion of works of art , producing and supporting the best young artists, organizing events and projects, as well as manufacturing and marketing various products. "The range of manufactured goods - from painting, sculpture and video to T-shirts, keyrings, mouse pads, holders for mobile phones and published a limited edition bags Louis Vuitton worth 5000 dollars. At an exhibition «© Murakami», which took place in 2007/2008 in the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, was exhibited, along with other works, the interior of the store of the company, designed by Murakami.

Murakami has created a hybrid of industrial companies, media corporations and pr-agency, one of whose objectives is to organize the biennial fair in Tokyo GEISAI, where customers Murakami (young artists) can, for a fee to exhibit their of work. By Remark artist and photographer Uelida Besht (Walead Beshty), «subtle intricacies of militant entrepreneurship Murakami's" hard not to appreciate. "Kaikai Kiki tentacles stretched into a number of industries, covering entertainment, advice on corporate image, the production of toys and high fashion. and is in addition to the basic problem - the production of art objects "- says a colleague about Murakami.

However, the flurry of activity rather Murakami runs counter to those key processes that go into the bowels of the economy since 1970 -s, according to Mark Taylor. As the power of finance capitalism, the production of real goods are increasingly replaced by manipulation of the financial instruments. And such a fine barometer of the state of the world, as art, can not fail to respond to this process.

Prepared by Mary Estrova, AI

Source : artinvestment.ru