VoCA loves the story of Damien Hirst and his skull, For the Love of God.
Damien Hirst and his work, For the Love of God. Image: theaestheticpoetic.comBy managing his own career, Hirst is a pioneer in the way the art world is changing. He works with his dealer to control who buys his work, buying it back himself when necessary and retaining a stake in it on occasion.He plays the art market as much as the market plays him. It’s fascinating and instructive, in terms of who decides what is good art. It used to be the critic and the collector. Now, it seems to be the artist and the dealer. Hmmmm.In any case, here is the latest:Revealed: Hirst and his dealer both have stake in diamond skull - in the Art NewspaperHEREAnd at a time of uncertainty in the market, perhaps Hirst’s control is a smart idea. When, or if, the art market crashes, his work will, presumably, be less affected then most, if it’s safely ensconced in museums or with himself, his dealer, or collectors who won’t unload it in a panic:Art houses sure market turmoil won’t derail sales, from ReutersHERE
Andrea Carson writes on contemporary art, architecture and design...
2 comments ↓
These artworld/economic tactics have been active for quite some time I believe. Larry Gagosian (dealer example) & Jeff Koons (artist exampe) are a pioneers in playing the art market as a commodities market; Rauschenberg was criticized in the seventies for buying back his own work and it helped him become a condo king in Miami; young artists were cautioned against having Saatchi buy up their entire early shows then dumping them back too early in the auction houses to turn a profit without concern for establishing low record prices for the artists themselves.
Canadian born, NY dealer, Andrea Rosen, however is best known for her protective art contracts that forbid collectors to resell purchased works to anyone but herself.
I think the interesting part of this discussion is how this kind of commercial inventiveness is completely void in the Canadian context. Until Canada’s contemporary art market can become as independently lucrative as European and American samples, Canadian artists will never have the opportunity to become more inventive in the economic methods they can peddle their wares.
Boring, overstated comment I’m sure. Sometimes the obvious needs to be stated.
Oh, BYW, Congrats on the new site Andrea. Looks great.
Leave a Comment