Documents of Contemporary Art: The Market by Natasha Degen

Hal Foster: The Medium is the Market // 2008. pp 199 - 205

Key Points from this essay:

• Hirsts Rise to fame, 'shock and scandal...media and market events' (pp 199). 
• Assets as art - The art market is a market with flaws. Illegal price fixing and insider trading is standard practise here. (pp.200). 
• Amy Cappellazzo, 'international co-head of postwar and contemporary art at Christie's' states, "Arts recent financial appeal stems from the idea that high-quality works of art were undervalued, and that as the market became more truly global in the past five years, their worth would increase in value as a result of (a) heightened demand for scarce objects; (b) an enormous roll up of private wealth that remains unprecedented; and (c) the market necessity for  a new asset class that could trade among individuals globally" (pp.200). 
• Francois Pinault - Controls Christies auction house and owns his own gallery, museum, and owns Gucci among other brands (pp.200). 
• "The desire for display, for instance, brings a demand for scale, indeed for spectacle, with dramatic effects on the cost of both making and exhibiting..." (pp.201) This quote explains the desire for luxury or extravagant art. 
• contemporary art is 'a private affair' (pp.201)
• Comments on business models, how Hirst multitasks 'like mad', compares to Koons and Murakami again 'peers in buisness art' (pp.202). Koons, Hirst and Murakami take influence from Warhols factory but do it on a larger scale.  They are like brands. Their process is industrial and impersonal. 
• "All three artists work in such a way as to make the market the medium of the art" (pp.202). 
• Balloon dog is so attractive because it is something that's ephemeral being made permanent, produced at great cost and sold even greater (pp.203). 
• Takashi Murakami's merchandise - found in museums and convenience stores (pp.204)\
• This essay ends with a note on the sinister sides of the 4 artists in question, and ends by saying about Hirsts dark side - how he "is the champion of converting public attention into financial reward" (pp.204). 
• 'Warholian line' (pp.205)

Developments/ Reflection / Further research:

• Check the issue of Art Forum that quotes Amy Cappellazo and Olav Velthuis in bibliography to get articles. 
• Research Olav Velthuis. 
• making my work extravagant and large scale
• High chromium stainless steel as a material - research

Scott Rothkopf - Takashi Murakami: Company Man // 2007 pp. 205 - 212

Key points:

• If Andy Warhol provided the model, Murakami has broken the mould" (pp.207)
• Lots of merchandise
• Comparison/ confusion of values. "'When comparing half a million dollars to 'free', there's an overwhelmingly different set of values, almost a confusion of values. This confusion is the purpose of creating the shokugan figures'" (pp.209)
• Not finding this text as interesting as last one.

Dorothea von Hantelmann: Why Koons? // 2009 pp.217-222

Key Points/ reflections:

• "After a century that instilled doubt and the questioning of the notion of art, he claims that art should create trust in the viewer...he wants art to have an empowering effect on the viewer" (pp.217) This point resonates with me as my work is quite focused on the viewers appreciation for it, perhaps to have an empowering effect on them as well. 
• Koons is in 'no mans land' - no real agenda, no critical engagement. 

Reflections

• Does the fact Koons have no real critical agenda make him more desirable as a commercial artist?