8/22/2017 0 Comments TRENDING TUESDAY | THE PRICE OF VRVR (Virtual Reality) is becoming an ever-increasing technology that has surpassed the possibility of just video gaming. As a first time viewer of VR, I experienced it recently at a pop-up art exhibition, Wonderspaces. This should be a telling sign of VR's future. The use of VR at both museums and galleries, such as Whitney Museum of American Art and Hauser & Wirth, is becoming more readily seen. In response to these popular projects, the idea of accurate compensation for this technology has become a growing question within the art market.
With a lack of precedent, dealers are struggling to adapt the standards of art sales to VR. Usually an artist's work is determined by their provenance, namely to whom and how frequently they have sold their work. However, VR is so new that provenance cannot exactly take effect, and even the artist's previous work does not necessarily help define the price. Even if the artist is famous for, let's say, their sculpture, that remains to be an object that can be purchased versus a digital experience that could be easily copied. Setting the standards based on the artist is also challenging, because, very similar to conceptual art, the artist may have hired professionals to create the work rather than do it themselves. Other elements of the actual technology pose a problem when defining the price. VR experiences have been sold as "limited editions", much like a fine art print, with only five to ten editions for the experience. This purchase also includes a VR headset, unlimited service assistance, and constant updates to the technology. These amenities are included for the specific reason that VR is a fast growing technology and people are unsure of its capabilities, even predicting that the everyday person might have one on hand in five years time. This presents another problem for the value; piracy. The potential copies and fakes would be much easier to produce and sell than a painting or sculpture. Rife with unexplained and uncertain futures, VR as an art medium that is filled with possibilities. They just might not be lucrative ones.
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As a member of the American Alliance of Museums, there are ethical codes in which every museum and art collecting association are assumed to follow. One of which states that an art collecting institution may only sell artwork from their collection for specific reasons dealing with the acquisition of new works or for the care and betterment of the artwork itself, namely not for pure profit. Recently, the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, Massachusetts announced they would be selling 40 of their most valuable works at an upcoming Sotheby's auction, including pieces by Norman Rockwell, Frederic Church, Alexander Calder, and Rembrandt Peale. Many of the pieces were part of the founding collection acquired 114 years ago. Considered to "no longer serve their mission", the museum's leadership has decided to sell the artworks in an attempt to sustain the museum and its goals to the community.
Upon the announcement, the controversy over the sale erupted. Both supporters and opponents alike began vocalizing their opinions on the matter. Considering the valuable quality of the works, the locals state that they will feel the loss to their artistic community, however the museum claims one of the reasons why the museum is suffering financially is the lack of community support through fundraisers and donations. Seen as the only way to keep the museum's doors open for the rest of their collection, the Berkshire Museum feels they must go through with the sale. As a long standing rule held by the American Alliance of Museums and the Association of Art Museum Directors, this sale conflicts directly with both associations. Furthermore, these two associations fear that this sale will set a bad example to art donors and supporters, discouraging them from gifting their "cherished objects" for fear that they may be sold at any time to make up for budgetary deficits. Besides the associations' disapproval of the sale, further action could be taken against the institution such as sanctioning the lending or assistance with future exhibitions at the Berkshire Museum. A heated debate has surfaced nationwide, and has consequently brought forth questions about suffering museums and their options when faced with financial doom. Supporters of the sale challenge the "sacred nature" of these collections, and the lack of empathy towards the institution who holds them. Regardless of opinions and sides taken, this sale has spurned an ethical dilemma amidst a rich, traditional history.
7/4/2017 0 Comments TRENDING TUESDAY | MAGAZZINOIf you have never heard of Arte Povera, don't worry you are not alone. A relatively unknown avant garde art movement that came out of Italy in the last half of the 20th century takes precedent at a new public space. Organized and orchestrated by Giorgio Spanu and Nancy Olnick, the collectors of the work, created Magazzino, which loosely in Italian translates to "warehouse". A short trip out of New York City to a small town called Cold Spring leads to a 20,000 square foot space purely dedicated to this art movement. 400 pieces make up the collection, supplemented by 5,000 of library and archive items. This impressively large collection offers the opportunity at a comprehensive view of this mysterious art form.
Arte Povera can be understood as a "loose knitting of individual artists", more so than an actual movement, that was coined "poor art" because of the raw or non-art materials the artists were using. Seen above, Michelangelo Pistoletto's Stracchi Italiani (2007) is the Italian flag made out of cut rags. A literal example of "poor art" that showcases a very intentional message. Arte Povera was established during a time of political radicalism in Italy, in which the artists had an awareness of their major art legacy, but were also eager to showcase a new form of Italian art that rejected the then institutions of government and culture.. Similar to the Renaissance and the stand against the Papacy centuries earlier, these artists were producing art that called into question ideals of the establishment. With these concepts in mind, Arte Povera was centered on the everyday. The works usually featured simple materials with traces of nature and industry, a loss of complex symbolism and messaging, and a focus on creating a art culture that lacked a systematic definition. These artists were mainly proponents of the idea that art should be the everyday, and thus art just becomes life. The Olnick Spanu Collection features many of the largest figures of this movement including MIchelangelo Pistoletto, Jannis Kounellis, Marissa and Mario Merz, and Pier Pablo Calzolari. In this act of advocacy for the movement, Olnick and Spanu aim to merely bring a thorough survey of Arte Povera to the art public with this free space. Among the ongoing events throughout the city this summer, this is a must see! |