Globalartism

Two Artists Talking: Miami-me-me-me

I found the above blog post on Two Artists Talking (Joanne Mattera and Chris Ashley) and interesting for it's look at the possibile ways art practice is changing due to the shifting of art marketing in recent years. Basically, there seems to be a movement towards ever slicker, celebrity/personality-driven art fairs that are run on an "entertainment...consumerism" model of globalism, where, according to the post's author, Chris Ashley, "...mostly it is about the bottom line, profit."

LIke Ashley, I'm a fan of the 'album' approach to an artist's career, where you might get to see the development of their work over time in a gallery or museum show and not just 'the hits'. I like seeing works that might not have been completely successful but were important to a particular artist's development. Art fairs certainly have their place, but what disturbs me is if the bottom-line approach becomes the model for other arts institutions (galleries, museums, etc...). That's already what happens with block-buster shows museums come up with to ensure more cash flow at the front door. However, what will happen if that's the only model for exhibiting art.

I like to think that will never really come to pass on a large scale; that there will still be places to experience the album effect of an artist's career and not the top ten hits version. Retrospectives serve this very purpose, but if a 'for profit' model predominiated, who knows what we'll have...