Art, for art’s sake, is a methodology quickly slipping away for most artists and their collectors. Headlines in today’s industry are more focused on the price of art rather than the meaning behind it. This vast commercialization of art has transformed how artists create their works, how collectors value them, and how the public perceives the art.
Let’s explore how each factor plays a role in how we view today’s art and its larger impact on the industry.
The Idea of the ‘Starving Artist’ is No Longer Desired
There are many levels of being an artist, and many base their success on which category they fall into. For example, social media has created a wave of artist content creators who share their works and processes through video content to gain fans to support their crafts. Another tier is gallery artists who display and sell works through these venues. And finally, blue-chip artists who’ve achieved global success with prominent solo museum exhibitions and works that sell for millions of dollars at auction.
Many artists hoping to make a career from their works aspire for this upper-tier status and don’t consider themselves successful until reaching it. Long gone are the days of wanting to live the bohemian artist lifestyle, and art commercialization has created the artist-celebrity phenomenon.
Art commercialization has led even some of the biggest names to collaborate with retailers to capitalize on their popularity for sales. Recent collaborations include KAWS and Uniqlo t-shirt collection, Jeff Koons partnering with H&M, Damien Hirst collaborating with Alexander McQueen, and Yayoi Kusama’s collection with Louis Vuitton.
Art commercialization has made owning products by today’s artists much more accessible, all while the value of their original works continues to increase exponentially.
Art is as Valuable as Someone Wants to Pay for It
One misconception about the art market is that there is an actual value linked to a particular art. But just like the stock market, most values are based on speculation from buyers. In out minds, higher prices show that an artist’s work is not as accessible to the general public, yet still holding a demand for more affluent collectors able to buy their works if available on the market.
In the past, artists were appreciated for their actual artworks—striving to create a beautiful picture. However, with the rise of artist-celebrities, art is becoming more like a brand name commodity—the more people recognize the name, the better the art can sell. As a result, it alters how artists approach their careers and inject marketing tactics to boost their credibility.
Collectors also play a role in inflating market values for contemporary art. Galleries have the power to artificially create demand for artists they represent by placing artworks within prominent spaces to make their other works more likely to sell through.
Provenance has always been a vital role in the value of art. Who owned a particular painting made others more interested in a piece for the sake of association. Today, a lot of provenance comes from pop culture and social media. It’s why works in an artist’s signature style—think balloon animals by Jeff Koons, flowers by Takashi Murakami, figures by KAWS, and politically-charged stencil works by Banksy—are their most valuable works for sale.
Changing the Way the Public Sees Art
There is more money changing hands worldwide than ever in history. It’s why contemporary art has become such a commodity for those able to shell out hundreds of thousands (or even millions) for a single piece of art. As a result, contemporary art is beginning to price out the true art collector in place of people who simply purchase works as an investment or store of money. Commercial or “brand name” artists are a better investment and have a better chance of holding value, which is why their prices continue rising.
Now, when you walk into a museum or gallery, many are more impressed by how much a painting is worth as opposed to the actual work. It’s why galleries pre-sell art before an exhibition for the chance to place a “sold” marker by its title to create a perception of an artist’s success.
The Fate of Commercializing Art
It’s easy to forget that some of the world’s greatest artworks were actually paid commissions by art patrons, like the Mona Lisa commissioned by merchant Francesco del Giocondo as a painting for his wife or the Statue of David commissioned by the Opera del Duomo for the Florence Cathedral. While we appreciate these works for their artistic beauty, the underlying motivation was as a job for the artists to make money.
As art continues to become more commercialized, it allows artists more avenues to make a living with their craft—even without achieving record-breaking auction sales. For example, an art content creator can sell art prints, and muralists commissioned to paint murals in an office like David Choe.
It’s essential to keep an appreciation of art at the forefront of any commercialization. Artists may try to change their style in hopes of appealing to market trends. However, the true value in art is defining your own style and bringing to life the creativity inside of you.
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