Success in the Contemporary Art World: an Examination of Market and Cultural Forces

Abstract

This work considers the contemporary art world with respect to what constitutes ‘value’ and how success can be engineered in this field. Though art is an ephemeral concept for which little can be taken for granted, especially in terms of trends and valuation, this work argues that circumstances can be made more favorable for the individual artist in order to better ensure his or her success. To elaborate upon this consideration, this thesis focuses on the different forces which are present in the art world, and presents a means for engineering success in this market. A core view to inform the work to follow – which is in the literature – is the idea that fine art has never been a more commercialized marketplace, and never more subject to trends and habits of increasingly-wealthy buyers, and that determining their practices and motivations must be core to any artistic endeavor, now more so than ever. Commercialization in this market has given way to a system by which various trends and fads in the art world (and in artistic purchase decisions) are more important than any rote understanding of technical acumen on the part of the individual artist. This may not necessarily be a preferable state of affairs, but this work will use examples to show such commercial factors are dominant. It is into this atmosphere and marketplace that this work presents a literature review and proposal for a case study of a unique artistic establishment with which this author is involved on a personal and business level, the SoHo Arts Club. This organization has been informed by a thorough consideration of the forces which present in the art market today. Survey and interview methodologies are mounted to determine the various factors which go into determining the valuation of artwork – and especially, the political and social elements which go into such valuation – in light of SoHo Arts Club’s novel community-based collaborative marketing model.