Art Buyers Research Articles

From the Train Yard to the Auction House: Connecting the Graffiti Subculture to the Art Market

Various cultural intermediaries have become involved in connecting graffiti writing to the art market. Through this case study, I shed light on the division of intermediation labour in the commercialization process of artworks stemming from subcultures in a global art market. Since the early 1970s, an international network of cultural brokers has gradually been set up in a frontier zone between art collectors and graffiti writers. Interviews, documentary sources and participative observation as an insider made it possible to identify these intermediaries and their specific roles and resources. My investigation sheds light on three historical phases of intermediation: from the first initiatives in New York in the 1970s to thematic auctions in French between 2006 and 2017. The first two phases ended in commercial and critical failure, first in American galleries and then in European museums, but the third phase led to economic success on the secondary art market, followed by public institutions’ validation. Three types of intermediaries are distinguished: commissioned experts from graffiti subculture, who select and encourage graffiti writers to produce marketable works; entrepreneurs, who seek to create a niche in the art market and promote a flattering image of graffiti art collectors, a group to which they often also belong; established auctioneers, who mobilize influential art buyers and encourage their favourable reception of graffiti artworks in order to expand their business. Whether they collaborate or compete with each other, these cultural intermediaries have complementary roles and resources linked to their social trajectories. However, they reap unequal benefits from their activities, whose impact on subcultural practices is finally discussed.

First Nations Politics in a Climate of Refusal

As a nation, Australians celebrate their cultural heritage through purchasing works of art by leading Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. These works are held in all major State-owned galleries and in most of the private collections of serious art buyers in the country. Australians also champion and support key artistic works in dance and performance. There remains, however, a distinct tension between the willingness of (successive) governments to celebrate the symbolic value of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ creative works and governmental readiness to participate in or endorse any performance that might usher in meaningful structural or material change for First Nations people who, in 2018, are still excluded from the Australian Constitution.The focus of this paper is to consider the performative qualities of both the ‘Uluru Statement from the Heart’ (2017), written by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders and presented to the people of the nation and to the government as an invitation to work together to achieve ‘Constitutional reforms’ for the First Nations people of Australia, and the Government’s response to this invitation via their Media Release and subsequent interviews. An analysis of the modes of address, the language used, and the aesthetic and ethical questions raised by each text, provides insight on the politics of speaking and listening in the current Australian political climate.

Pre‐sale information and hammer prices for Australian Indigenous art

AbstractUsing sales data from 1987–2011 we investigate the role that pre‐sale price information plays in determining hammer prices for Australian Indigenous artworks. Importantly, we control for the degree of market concentration as this might influence buyers’ perceptions of fairness in relation to price estimates which are provided by auction houses. Auction houses therefore act as important intermediaries between art sellers and art buyers. The results suggest that pre‐sale estimates and market concentration have a differential impact on hammer prices, depending on the point in the conditional realised price distribution under examination.

Historic art exhibitions and modern - day auction results

This paper uses historic art exhibitions in order to investigate the impact of the contemporary success of artistic careers on today׳s auction prices of modern paintings. That is, if an artist׳s work was displayed at a historic art exhibition in a given year, paintings dated from this year fetch higher prices at auction today. This can be attributed to two effects: artists who participated in such shows were already acknowledged as superstars contemporaneously and participants in art exhibitions benefited from a longer-lasting career boost as reflected by positive mark-ups on paintings made in the years following a show. For both channels, participation in historic art exhibitions is a strong quality signal for today׳s art buyers. This study is based on a global sample of 273 ‘superstars’ of modern art born between 1800 and 1945, 34,141 auction results of paintings and participation in important historic art exhibitions.

The influence of aesthetic investments on employees

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore new constructs related to organizations, art and physical environment. Further, an intention was to explain and discuss whether investments in the physical environment in the form of art, design and architecture do have an effect on employees.Design/methodology/approach– To conclude whether aesthetics had an impact on employees in terms of job satisfaction, motivation and their self-perception of their own ability to provide customer service, the authors undertook a quantitative study of 222 employees in seven companies. The authors subsequently commenced five in-depth, semi-structured interviews with four accessible corporate art buyers and one curator to identify the main motivations for purchasing art and placing it in the work place.Findings– With regard to perceptions of art, design and architecture, the physical environment is perceived as a whole and seems to play a significant role in organizational life for employees in companies that have invested in art. The research implies, however, that the companies that invested in art, design and architecture, despite the positive influence on employees’ self-perceived service ability, did not accumulate benefits on service ability relative to employees in companies without art.Practical implications– Managers should cautiously reflect on their motivations for investing in art, design and architecture. Useful motivations might include projecting a desired external image or decoration or expressing connection to a community. Investing in art, design and architecture independent of what the organization is trying to do strategically will create cosmetic solutions that lack any wider purpose.Originality/value– Despite increased corporate interest in aesthetics, little research has been done to determine the effect on employees. The research shortage may be due to the challenge of understanding the meaning of the visible expressions. This paper is a contribution to strengthen the knowledge of the impact of workspace aesthetics on employees (the authors subsequently undertook five in-depth, semi-structured interviews with four accessible corporate art buyers at Storebrand (insurance and banking corporation), Telenor (mobile operator), Hydro (aluminium company), Nordic Choice Hotels and one curator).

Are auction revenues affected by rising art buyers’ premia? The case of early American art

The steady rise in the premiums charged to art buyers at auction (above hammer price) has been underway since 1992. This article, using a stable and bounded sample of repeat purchase of American works created before 1950, reveals that this tact has reduced hammer prices for that art. However, renewed and hyper-competitive efforts to bring more and higher quality art to market by the two main houses, Sotheby’s and Christie’s, have resulted in general profitability. Nevertheless, we calculate that a rise in buyers’ premia at Sotheby’s, a publically traded company, has reduced revenues and profits below their potential in the absence of such increases.

‘Hey, can I use this?’ Simplifying rights management for creative agency DAM systems

Clear communication of rights associated with creative assets in a self-service digital asset management (DAM) system can be challenging owing to varied user knowledge, inconsistency in metadata entry, a wide range of usage and licensing parameters, and system features and limitations. Creative end users such as designers, art directors and art buyers require simplicity, clarity and ease of discovery in terms of rights management information. Understanding the user, the needs of the organisation and clients if applicable, as well as the digital asset management system employed, is paramount to the success of any DAM administrator in planning, presenting and managing the application of rights metadata. This paper discusses the inherent challenges of adding rights-managed assets to a DAM; governance features of DAM systems and examples of proper implementation; and suggestions for educating users to get the most out of the DAM experience without incurring risk of copyright infringement.

From Silver Cups to Garden Gnomes: Toward a Contextual Reception of Standardized Images

Roman domestic art in elite and non-elite houses follows the same iconographic patterns. This high degree of standardization has led to the widespread assumption that art use lower down the social scale was a matter of elite imitation. But as this paper argues, canonical images were not exclusively popular because they copied upper-class fashions. Instead, standardized imagery was popular because it could impart a whole variety of meanings. And indeed, non-elite art buyers often tweaked canonical images to suit highly idiosyncratic representational interests. This non-elite art use is explored through a comparison with the cultural transformations of the modern garden gnome.

Cacophony of Voices and Emotions: Dialogic of Buying and Selling art

The importance of galleries as go-betweens for artists and art buyers is acknowledged in art world research. Using a Bakhtinian dialogic approach, this article examines social encounters of three artists, two art buyers and one gallery sales executive in Singapore. Specifically, it looks into the social interactional dynamics of artists and art buyers when they trade directly. Situational ambiguities and emotional ambivalence arise during such meetings from the different expectations and demands that are imposed, which have the effect of placing the parties involved in conflicting social contexts. For instance, when art connoisseurs and artists discuss aesthetics, monetary value is not of primary concern, nonetheless when they want to trade, commercial concerns become central; this can lead to discomfort between the parties. Similarly, art buyers may want to go behind the scenes to know more about the artist and the art practice; getting away from the glitter of the commercial gallery and into the modest art studio for an authentic experience may reveal too much for visitors; such experiences may break their illusion of the glamorous artist. This article looks at the microscopic interaction between artists and art buyers and shows how the ambiguities and ambivalence that can be generated by their encounters become constraining factors in encouraging artists and art buyers to trade directly, by-passing commercial art galleries and dealers.

Marketing fine art on the Internet: issues and ideas

AbstractThe fine art market has grown into a $17bn industry. Yet only recently have art dealers and art buyers discovered the Internet as a viable marketing tool. As art galleries begin to move online, a fundamental question arises: are the major stakeholders willing to use this non‐traditional means to buy and sell art? This paper uses three independent studies, of artists, interior designers and organisational buyers, in North America, to analyse the characteristics of those inclined to use the Internet for this service and considers the magnitude of purchases through this medium. Study results indicate that: (1) artists are under‐represented on the Internet and disconcerted about technology issues; (2) targeting buyer segments, like interior designers, through the Internet is a viable and attractive alternative for fine art dealers; (3) organisational buyers often neglect Internet alternatives. Practical implications for those desiring to utilise the Internet to market fine art are discussed. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications

Bargaining power and artists' resale dividends

This paper explores the implications of models of bargaining power for issues having to do with the droit de suite, a legal right of graphic artists to a share in capital gains when a work of art is resold by the first purchaser. It is found that, if both artists and art buyers are risk averse, a positive resale share will be the outcome of a bargaining process that is Pareto-optimal as between the bargainers. This does not depend on bargaining power but is a form of risk-sharing, and to the extent that art buyers are risk averse will be preferred to a zero shareby the buyers. Since resale royalties are not ordinarily a feature of art sale contracts in the absence of legislation, this appears anomalous, and the paper explores alternatives to the received bargaining theory such as might correspond better with casual empiricism.

Art Forgeries and their Prevention

The forgery of works of art, particularly pictures, is a serious evil that besets the art business world, quite apart from its depressive effect generally. The phenomenon is not new, but never before has it been more prejudicial, perhaps because contemporary painting is far easier to imitate than that of the past, and because of the increasing flow of money into the art markets. These two elements encourage the temptation to forgery, whilst the demand for pictures would possibly be even greater were it not for this nightmare that haunts likely purchasers.How can the world's art markets be restored to health? Clearly this problem can be tackled by a variety of means. It would resolve itself or would not exist were people honest and upright. The situation would be ameliorated if art buyers were more circumspect in their purchases and the experts consulted to confirm the authenticity of pictures were able to express firm opinions and were more of one mind among themselves. The question, however, may well be considered from another angle, to see whether an answer can be found—or at least considerably facilitated—even if the standard of reasonable care and the expertise of the experts remain as they are at present. We do not have in mind here the criminal and civil sanctions that already exist. Nor shall we inquire into the possibilities of the assistance which may be had from increasing the severity of such sanctions. We shall not examine nostrums but means of prevention.

New Literature on Palma Vecchio

MANY art lovers, readers and buyers of art books and magazines are of the opinion that scholars give often an exaggerated importance to chronological questions and that discussion about those dating problems take too much place in articles and books. There is no doubt that the question of the exact dating of an art work is always of real importance, and we can observe in more than one case that this problem deserves first place in the discussion. For instance the chronology of the paintings by Palma Vecchio. The difficulty has always been emphasized of fixing even approximately this chronology, but at the same time a certain priority has been claimed for the art of Palma over that of Titian. Many scholars consider Palma the creator of the full length figure, Santa Conversazione in the Cinquecento style, as well as the inventor of the idealistic half length figure, which was a favorite subject of Titian in his early period. Consequently on account of his relations to Titian and his influence on the develop...