Semester Project

Commercialization of Art

“Any fool can paint a picture, but it takes a wise person to be able to sell it”

                              - Samuel Butler

My Project will cover the very noticeable commercialization of art but it will cover it in ways that may not be for fully understood. I will look at the commercialization of art from a historical point of view during the 18th century in Europe. As most art history discourses go, European history is quite comparative to the modern establishment of commercialization. But history is not enough to explain the methods nor the philosophy for commercialization of art.

I was sitting in class one day thinking about auction houses of art and art fairs where artist came from all over the world to show case their talent, and to squeeze out as much profit as they can. I quickly related this to the idea of production of any product. If one can mass produce shirts or cars, why cannot art be mass produce for profit. Well, the truth is, it has been, and for quite some time.
I was very shocked to learn that mass production was not a novel invention. The practices can be dated to the late 19th century. I believed that art was banished from a factory type scene, but it turns out, art was quite welcomed into it.

Jen Bekman's catalogue for her gallery, 20x200. 

Art took on different journeys and experiences. In my project i talk about the role of lithography and photography and how the perception of art was challenged. Art was not an exclusive commodity anymore, and the privilege for art ownership expanded greatly with the advent of these technologies.

But I talk more about commercialization of art because the conversation cannot simply stop at the modern technologies. It doesn't take a machine to insert the notion of mass production and commercialization. Rather than technological advances in the art printing, I talked about pop art and how it contributed to the idea of commercialization. I talked about Andy Warhol, (how can you not talk about Warhol when talking about pop art?) and compared to artists like Thomas Kinkade. There two different approaches to art were driven by the same desires; monetary desires.

Andy Warhol. Marilyn Monroe. 

My project encompasses many forms of commercialization, since it is not as simple as it seems. Many layers surround the concept and it is foolish to say that one thing is the essence of the commercialization of art because it is not. Commercialization as a concept may seem easy to understand but there are many driving factors, factors that i try to explain to my fellow classmates and anyone who is willing to listen.

Thomas Kinkade. The Clocktower Cottage. 1999

Being a biology major, it might seem a bit off putting to talk about art and its commercialization. This is because it is very off putting. My intent to write about this topic didn't stem from a biological inspiration but rather a desire to understand something that I had not idea about at the beginning of the semester. My hopes were to be able to walk into a museum and not just pretend to know something about an artist, but to contribute to a conversation about art. I believe that a information magazine is the best way to grab the attention of people, and it is a great mechanism to spread the information on the subject.

My list of works that I studied would include...

1 – Donna Dodson. Art as Commodity or Art as Experience?

2 – Michael North and David Ormrod. Art Markets in Europe, 1400-1800

3 – Thierry Ehrmann. Art Market Trends

4-7 – Walter Benjamin. The Work Of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

8 – Jonathan E. Schroeder. Andy Warhol: Consumer Researcher

9 – Martin S. Lindauer. Mass-Produced Art: Towards a Popular Aesthetic

10 -  Cêcile Whiting. A Taste for Pop Art, Gender, and Consumer Culture

11 - Jonathan E. Schroeder. Andy Warhol: Consumer Researcher