#4 Isabelle Graw "Beyond the Dualistic Art/Market Model'

'For we are all, in our own ways, linked to market conditions' (p.93)

Isabelle Graw1

'[T]he present historical situation [...] is characterised by the fact that judgments concerning the general situation proceed from a particular point of view. As a rule, particular existence always risks succumbing for lack of resources. It contrasts with general existence whose resources are in excess and for which death has no meaning.' (p.39)

Georges Bataille2

If I recall correctly, some members of our discussion group answered that their economic position is a consideration in their practice. Some remained quiet. Their quietness now provokes projection and hypotheses.

May this quietness imply a mootness that acknowledges the structural arbitrariness of exchange systems governing creative practices? Graw observes that although 'each individual artist does work toward his or her eventual position' (p.86), these positions remain 'not the result of a wilful act' but are 'attributed' (p.86). This provisional nature of decisions further complicates considerations of economic investment in materials/processes, especially for a young artist: in this hit-and-miss game, 'missing' is not really an option.

Another curious silence is the silence of artists who have stopped being artists. Graw argues the media is obsessed with successful artists due to the art world's correspondence to neoliberal ideologies of competition. Following this argument then, the lack of media interest in 'failed' artists is equally ideological: neoliberalism has no time for the 'non-competitive'. However, given the highly-pronounced contrast between the general and particular economy in the art world where a small minority of artists enjoy the vast majority share of commercial success, the 'fail' rate reflects structural issues which may have little to do with the actual merit of the art being dismissed.

Graw tentatively suggests the multi-faceted nature of the art market may offer a way forward as niches allow less commercially successful artists the financial means to support themselves. Considered together with greater scepticism towards the neoliberal market and new technologies facilitating market fragmentation, perhaps particular economies of individual artists may improve but the larger general economy looks prepared to keep on going.

References

1. 
   
   Graw, Isabelle. High Price: Art between The Market and Celebrity Culture. Berlin: Sternsberg Press, 2009. Print.


2. Bataille, Georges. The Accursed Share: An Essay on General Economy Volume 1. New York: Zone Books, 1988. Print.