Hostile Worlds, Questionable Speculation & Contests of MeaningThree Types of Controversies Around Art

Erica CoslorDoctoral Candidate, University of ChicagoUniversity of Edinburgh Sociology Seminar

January 28, 2009All pictures and charts are the intellectual property of their creators; They are included in this presentation for educational purposes only.

Overview

• Hostile Worlds – Art & Money• Questionable Speculation – Art Investment• Control of the Biography & the Prestige

Allocation System• Contests of Meaning – Art in Movement

Does Money Corrupt?Hostile Worlds vs. Independent Spheres

‘Superprices’

‘Surfing Nurse’ by Richard PrinceSold for over £2.1 m in 2003

‘Oh S---’ by Damien HirstSold for over £2.3 b in Sept.

Questionable Speculation

Stocks

Bonds

Commodities

Mei/Moses Chart

Financializing Art

Stocks Bonds CommoditiesArt

Art InvestmentFunds

Financial Asset Classes

Repackaging Quantification & Measurement

Competing Arenas

Auction Houses40% of Sales

Art Galleries60% of Sales

Sales of high-end contemporary art. Sources: interviews, Wall Street Journal

The Exchange Biography of Art

Museums

EstablishedCollectors

Artists ArtGalleries

‘GoodInvestors’

‘Speculators’ Art Auctions

Block Sales

Speculative Circuit

Long-Term Value Construction Circuit

Control of the Biography“We only sell to people that we know and trust.

If it is a seminal piece in an artist’s oeuvre then we only sell to certain trusted people. But, if it is a less established artist [or] work

of lesser importance then we are more open. We do encourage new collectors, but at the same time it is difficult, as we need to trust

them. We sell to people who will come to us before selling to anyone else.”

Prestige Allocation

“You can’t walk into Victoria Miro, and go, ‘I’d like this.’ …they’ll say, ‘Well, first of all,

we’ve sold out this show a month before we put it up. Second of all, there’s a two-year waiting list for this artist’s work. And

third of all, who are you? Can we have your name?”

Elite and Elistist“Yes, I mean it is something that I really dislike,

but it is something that is really cultivated as well. [Galleries] covet this mystique. They have a policy of not selling to new clients. You cannot just approach them and buy.

There are waiting lists for all of the work that they sell. It may be the case that this is

genuine, but I think it is all manufactured. People have this natural instinct to want what

they can’t have.”

Circulation & Contests of MeaningWhat happens when art moves to a different context?

Conclusions

• Contested commodity concerns are widely held and do matter.

• Hostile worlds are not the only relevant concern.• Speculative art buying is opposed for more

pragmatic reasons by art world insiders. • Meaning comes through context, and when art

moves, there can be a struggle over whether something is lost through that lack of context.

Thank you!

Presentation based on conference paper submitted to Arts, Culture & the Public Sphere,

Venice, Italy

Erica Coslorecoslor@uchicago.edu

Selected References• Bolger (2006). "Is it just art, or is it investment?“• Chancellor, E. (2007). Popping the Art Bubble. The

Sunday Times. London: News Review: 8.• Velthuis, O. (2003). "Symbolic meanings of prices.

Constructing the value of contemporary art in Amsterdam and New York galleries." Theory and Society 32: 181-215.

• Velthuis, O. (2005). Talking Prices: Symbolic Meanings of Prices on the Market for Contemporary Art. Princeton, Princeton University Press.

See the full paper for more sources.

Competing Exchange Motives?

Profit-Seeking Exchange

Long-Term Value Construction for Art

‘Speculation’Short-Term Profits

(Problematic)

‘Investment’Long-Term Profits

(Acceptable & Expected)

LT-VALUEDAMAGING

LT-VALUEENHANCING

Additional Conclusions

Q: When is ‘Investment’ in Contemporary Art Acceptable to Galleries?

A: When you play by the rules of the gallery system– Long time horizon – No ‘flipping’ pieces– Work with the gallery – No arbitrage at

auction– Work within established networks

Comparing Returns

Chart Source: Hutter, Knebel, Pietzner, & Schäfer, 2007. Two games in town: a comparison of dealer and auction prices in contemporary visual arts markets.

Work on Art Pricing Strategies

• O’Neil 2008. “Bringing art to market: The diversity of pricing styles in a local art market” Poetics 36: 94-113

• Velthuis 2005. Talking Prices. Princeton.