Transcript
what makes art valuable?
are the most famous artists the best ones?
are the ones whose art sells for the most money the best?
if an artist is undiscovered, does that mean he or she isn’t very good?
how do we determine value in art? is there a neutral, value-free way of comparing artists?
LEONARDO DA VINCI Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo, known as the Mona Lisa (the Joconde in French)c. 1503–06oil on panel30.3 x 20.8 inchesAcquired by François I in 1518
Is the Mona Lisa famous because it’s the best ever?
It is located in the Louvre, one of the most well-known art museums in the world. [I.e., it’s benefited from a central art world location for the past 250 years]
where critics who praise/disdain artists have been able to see it
where artists have been influenced by it
where art historians have written it into history
where art lovers and visitors and tourists have come to see it and photograph it, and buy coffee mugs and totebags with this image on it
“Leonardo undertook to execute, for Francesco del Giocondo, the portrait of Mona Lisa, his wife, and after he had lingered over it for four years, he left it unfinished; and the work is today in the possession of King Francis of France, at Fontainebleau. Anyone wishing to see the degree to which art could imitate nature could readily perceive this from the head; since therein are counterfeited all those minutenesses that with subtlety are able to be painted: seeing that the eyes had that lustre and moistness which are always seen in the living creature, and around them were the lashes and all those rosy and pearly tints that demand the greatest delicacy of execution. The eyebrows, through his having shown the manner in which the hairs spring from the flesh, here more close and here more scanty, and curve according to the pores of the flesh, could not be more natural. The nose, with its beautiful nostrils, rosy and tender, appeared to be alive. The mouth with its opening , and with its ends united by the red of the lips to the flesh-tints of the face, seemed, in truth, to be not colours but flesh. In the pit of the throat, if one gazed upon it intently, could be seen the beating of the pulse: and indeed it may be said that it was painted in such a manner as to make every brave artificer, be he who he may, tremble and lose courage. He employed also this device: Mona Lisa being very beautiful, while he was painting her portrait, he retained those who played or sang, and continually jested, who would make her to remain merry, in order to take away that melancholy which painters are often wont to give to their portraits. And in this work of Leonardo there was a smile so pleasing , that it was a thing more divine than human to behold, and it was held to be something marvelous, in that it was not other than alive.”
Giorgio Vasari ‘The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects’ 1550
Andy WARHOLThirty Are Better Than One 1963Synthetic polymer paint and silkscreen ink on canvas110 x 94 inches
“prestige”
a system of agreement among interconnected aspects of the art world
the market
the critics
the institutions
conclusion
In any society, some objects are called ‘art,’ others are not. These designations are a matter of social tradition and convention. Such labels can change over time as a society’s values and preferences change.
What is visual culture?
It includes everything that art excludes: All the objects that are left out from consideration in the traditional fine arts (painting, sculpture, architecture)
things made not for elite but ordinary audiences
the role of vision in the production of knowledge/power
technologies/enhancements of vision (for example, scientific and medical imaging)
The Art World: a system
AN INTERLINKED SYSTEM OF:
•MONEY•PRESTIGE•IDEAS•FASHION
Let’s explore these one at a time.
The Art World: money
AN INTERLINKED SYSTEM OF:
•MONEY• Buyers and Sellers
• private collectors• institutional collectors
• Galleries• Auction Houses (resale market)
The Art World: prestige
AN INTERLINKED SYSTEM OF:
•MONEY•PRESTIGE
• What artists receive shows in large museums?
• What artists receive shows in galleries?
• What artists are represented by major gallerists?
• What artists are interesting to curators?
• What artists are interesting to critics?
• What artists are interesting to art historians and other intellectuals?
The Art World: ideas
AN INTERLINKED SYSTEM OF:
•MONEY•PRESTIGE•IDEAS
• what artists are written about in mass-circulation newspapers and magazines?
• what artists are written about by art critics in more specialized publications?
• what artists are written about by scholars in highly specialized publications?
The Art World: fashion
AN INTERLINKED SYSTEM OF:
•MONEY•PRESTIGE•IDEAS•FASHION
“who’s up/down, who’s in/out”“who’s pricey, or in demand?”“who’s the latest, coolest thing?”
Art can serve to create a fashionable environment for other forms of display
Art BaselMiami Beach,(“Miami Basel”)2008
The Art World: example
Pictured at a 2008 event in Moscow: Larry Gagosian, Dasha Zukhova, Takashi Murakami
The art world is not all glamorous types clad in black!
Viewing a recent acquisition of Dali printsat the Oglethorpe University Art Museum, Atlanta, GA,Summer 2010
OK, so who else?
Anyone who has an interest, whether casual or devoted, in following the culture of contemporary art as it changes over time
•Art students•Students in general•People in general who are interested in art or want to be culturally aware
as Howard Becker suggests:
the artworld is a collaborative system
it requires the cooperation of many people in different roles
it is social in nature and reflects the values and priorities of a given society
“Grandma Moses”seated in front of one of her paintingsphoto, 1949
Grandma MosesMy Old Homestead1930'sworsted wool embroidery9 1/4x11”
Grandma MosesMt. Nobo on the Hill1930’sworsted wool embroidery10 x 14 inches
Grandma MosesRoadside Garden1930'sworsted wool embroidery9 1/4x16 ¼”
Grandma Moses (1860-1961)Sugaring Off in Maple Orchard, 194018 1/8x 24 1/8 in
Grandma MosesCatching the Turkey1940, 12 x 16 in
Grandma MosesBlack Horses, 194320 x 24 in
Grandma MosesWhite Christmas, 195423 3/4x 19 3/4 in
Horace Pippin paintingphoto, 1940
Horace PIPPIN, The Buffalo Hunt, oil on canvas, 1933, 21 ¼ x 31 inches
Horace PIPPINMr. Prejudice1943oil on canvas18 1/8 x 14 1/8 inches Philadelphia Museum of Art
Horace PIPPINA Chester County Art Critic(Portrait of Christian Brinton)1940oil on canvas21 ½ x 15 7/8 inchesPMA
Horace PIPPIN, The End of War: Starting Home, 1930-33, oil on canvas, 26 x 30 inches
Horace PIPPIN, Country Doctor (Night Call) 1935, oil on canvas, 28 1/8 x 32 1/8 inches
Horace PIPPINThe Barracks1945Oil on canvas25 1/4 x 30 in
Horace PIPPINOld Black Joe, 1943o/c, 1943
Horace PippinSupper Timec. 1940Oil on burnt-wood panel12 x 15 1/8 inches
Horace PIPPIN, Outpost Raid: Champagne Sector, 1931, oil on fabric, 18 x 21 in
Horace PIPPIN, Shell Holes and Observation Balloon, Champagne Sector, c. 1931oil on muslin, 22 1/2 x 30 7/8 inches
Horace PIPPIN, John Brown Going to His Hanging, 1942oil on canvas, 24 x 30 inches, PAFA
Henry DARGER (1892-1973)3 At Jennie Richee are persued down stream. Puzzle, try and find them, but they're in pictureWatercolor, graphite, and collage on pieced paperMeasurements: 18 x 47 1/2"
Henry DARGER Untitled (Vivian Girl with Doll)Watercolor, carbon tracing, and pencil on paper12 x 9"
Henry DARGER (1892-1973)clipping from Darger’s collection with traced outlineMeasurements: 10 x 9 1/2"
a clippingfrom Darger’slarge collection
a clipping fromDarger’s collection
Henry Darger, Untitled (Two girls and a dog sitting in garden)Watercolor, carbon tracing, collage (Christmas Seal stamps), and pencil on cardboard11 x 15"
Henry DARGER 6 At Jennie Richee Have thrilling time while with bombshells bursting all aroundWatercolor on paperMeasurements: 19 x 46"
Henry DARGERAt Jennie Richie are arrested again1941-4
Henry DARGERSeize Glandelinian officer-to-him [left]Glandelinians were about to hang [center]They attempt to hide in the fiddle case [right]1941-1944
Sheldon PECK (1797–1868), David and Catherine Stolp Crane, Aurora, Illinois, c. 1845Oil on canvas, 35 11/16 × 43 5/8"-