The art machine: dynamics of a value generating mechanism for contemporary art

Abstract

The raw materials-canvas, paint, brushes, the artist's talent and hard workare not costly. Existing art and business studies investigate how this kind of input may at times result in contemporary masterpieces valued in the millions. This article introduces a new way of looking at how this works and expresses it in the clear and comprehensive new terminology of the art machine. Essential to this concept are, first and foremost, the correct components (the cogs in the machine) and then, vitally, the capacity of the artist and other involved agents to operate the machine for optimum results. This study describes progressively the processes by which lesser value becomes higher value, i.e., ideally, by which the unknown art student's paintings attain museum status. Machines come with a warranty. The art machine, however, does not guarantee success. Much depends on the artist's initial input and the various agents' operating skills. Fluid factorsfinancial, social, political, geographicalas well as unpredictables such as taste-variations, chance and faults and frictions within the machine, affect its efficiency. Lacking the aura of worthiness that age gives Old Masters, contemporary artists must somehow validate their work to reassure potential consumers of their credibility in the present and their sustainability for the future. Symbolic and financial validation for those few contemporary artists who manage to achieve success relies on the efficient workings of what is pioneered in this paper as the art machine. Here, the mechanical nature of the established art market is presented as a network of dependencies between discerning artists, art professionals and art supporters, who ideally should work in unison to generate symbolic and financial value for art. It is a co-branding initiative that is indispensable for success. Deconstructing this complex system of affiliation assesses how each participant aims to benefit from the market and also contribute to the creation of value and reputation within the wider spectrum of the contemporary art scene. This collaborative

The art of branding − lessons from visual artists

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The production and consumption activities relating to the celebrity artist

“…Enhanced artistic and market reputation drive up the sign value and power. How celebrity fans respond to the messages communicated by the artist and others within the art machine (Rodner and Thomson 2013) can be understood using consumer culture theory (Arnould and Thompson 2005) and metaphoric transfer (Hunt and Menon 1995). Consumers construct their own interpretations of the celebrity artist and their work, in addition to responding to the intended metaphors constructed by the artist.…”

Cultural memory and the heritagisation of a music consumption community

“…Heritage is how history is mediated through the material evidence of our shared past and the intangibles of our community value systems, customs and beliefs. Museums tend to either highlight the material culture of the 'other' as objects of curiosity, or else elevate the status of objects into something worthy of display through its relationship with the higher ideals of the museum as the location of high cultural values (Rodner and Thomson 2012; see also Bennett and Janssen, 2016).…”