What is the value of art?

Flash Points

Scenes from a Globalized Art World

by Kelly Huang | Oct 26, 2009

Flash Points

Scenes from a Globalized Art World

by Kelly Huang | Oct 26, 2009

I’d like to start my guest blogging with Art21 by bringing up a series of questions surrounding globalization and artistic representation. My primary research interest is in the art market …

Flash Points

Unconventional Residencies

by Bryce Dwyer | Sep 28, 2009

Flash Points

Unconventional Residencies

by Bryce Dwyer | Sep 28, 2009

Last November, the National Endowment for the Arts established a new funding category explicitly for artist communities. The NEA defines an artist community as “an organization, whether focused on a …

Flash Points

Summer Travelogue

by Daniel Fuller | Aug 6, 2009

Flash Points

Summer Travelogue

by Daniel Fuller | Aug 6, 2009

Upon arriving in Athens, several curious and helpful people gave me every warning to stay far away from the Kerameikos and Metaxourgeio neighborhoods, which was exactly where I was headed, …

The Studio at Colton: A Look Back and Ahead

by John d'Addario | Jul 14, 2009

The Studio at Colton: A Look Back and Ahead

by John d'Addario | Jul 14, 2009

If you had to point to one institution that best illustrated the progress of the arts community in post-Katrina New Orleans—not to mention the progress of the city in general—you …

Flash Points

Flash Points: Art+Economics, Looking Back & Moving Forward

by Hrag Vartanian | Jul 13, 2009

Flash Points

Flash Points: Art+Economics, Looking Back & Moving Forward

by Hrag Vartanian | Jul 13, 2009

Money is on everyone’s mind but particularly for those in the art world, which faces one of the most difficult economic climates in ages. The last few months on this …

Flash Points

Arts Stimulus Funding & the Art Economy Part 2: Talking to the House Arts Caucus Co-Chairs

by Hrag Vartanian | Jul 9, 2009

Flash Points

Arts Stimulus Funding & the Art Economy Part 2: Talking to the House Arts Caucus Co-Chairs

by Hrag Vartanian | Jul 9, 2009

A few months ago, I went to the Bronx for a studio visit with an accomplished artist, John Fekner, whose personal brand of street graphics helped define a tumultuous era …

Flash Points

Arts Stimulus Funding & the Art Economy Part 1: By the Numbers

by Hrag Vartanian | Jul 8, 2009

Flash Points

Arts Stimulus Funding & the Art Economy Part 1: By the Numbers

by Hrag Vartanian | Jul 8, 2009

Talking about federal arts funding in America can be very confusing because of the many facts and figures. So, in an effort to understand the current and historic levels of …

Flash Points

The value of didactic art and the gift economy—from object ownership to object affiliation

by Adelheid Mers | Jul 6, 2009

Flash Points

The value of didactic art and the gift economy—from object ownership to object affiliation

by Adelheid Mers | Jul 6, 2009

There is quite a tradition around visualizing information that reaches beyond the more familiar pie charts and quantifications used in science and commerce, dealing with the communication of complex thought …

Flash Points

Interview with Jackie Battenfield

by Trong Gia Nguyen | Jun 30, 2009

Flash Points

Interview with Jackie Battenfield

by Trong Gia Nguyen | Jun 30, 2009

As our Flash Points topic of Art and Economics comes to a close, I sat down and spoke with Jackie Battenfield, whose first book The Artist’s Guide: How to Make …

Flash Points

No Preservatives: Conversations about Conservation

No Preservatives: The Clocks’ Tic Tic Tic …

by Richard McCoy | Jun 16, 2009

Flash Points

No Preservatives: Conversations about Conservation

No Preservatives: The Clocks’ Tic Tic Tic …

by Richard McCoy | Jun 16, 2009

Spearheaded by Richard McCoy, a conservator at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, this site’s newest column, “No Preservatives,” seeks to define the conservator’s role in the conservation of art in …

Flash Points

Money Changes Everything

by Thomas Micchelli | Jun 10, 2009

Flash Points

Money Changes Everything

by Thomas Micchelli | Jun 10, 2009

I remember, back when I was in art school, walking into a lecture hall where someone had scrawled on the chalkboard, “The only true artists are amateurs.” That was the …

Flash Points

Economic Sur-realities: A Conversation with Bjøernstjerne Christiansen of SUPERFLEX

by Hrag Vartanian | Jun 2, 2009

Flash Points

Economic Sur-realities: A Conversation with Bjøernstjerne Christiansen of SUPERFLEX

by Hrag Vartanian | Jun 2, 2009

Danish art group SUPERFLEX has been exacerbating the art world for over a decade with its irreverent style of questioning, which hits hard at the foundations of the West’s economic …

Flash Points

Inside the Artist's Studio

Inside the Artist’s Studio: Seoidín O’Sullivan

by Georgia Kotretsos | May 29, 2009

Flash Points

Inside the Artist's Studio

Inside the Artist’s Studio: Seoidín O’Sullivan

by Georgia Kotretsos | May 29, 2009

Seoidín O’Sullivan is an artist based in Dublin, Ireland. Her art practice investigates sociopolitical and ecological narratives, which she represents in critically engaged and poetic ways. Working within a group—an …

Flash Points

Reflection in the Porcelain Pond

by Bert Stabler | May 22, 2009

Flash Points

Reflection in the Porcelain Pond

by Bert Stabler | May 22, 2009

In the fine art world, the story of the thing is the stuff comprising the thing. Paint, bronze, steel, video, screenprinting, mud, written language—the work is about the medium. And …

Flash Points

The best is not quite over…

by Daniel Fuller | May 21, 2009

Flash Points

The best is not quite over…

by Daniel Fuller | May 21, 2009

One of the first rules for the nouveau riche is to save a little for a rainy day. Unfortunately, in the doom and gloom that has come with daily announcements …

Flash Points

What Goes Down Must Come Up: Talking with Arnold Lehman of the Brooklyn Museum

by Nicole J. Caruth | May 14, 2009

Flash Points

What Goes Down Must Come Up: Talking with Arnold Lehman of the Brooklyn Museum

by Nicole J. Caruth | May 14, 2009

As the recession continues, reports of shrunken endowments, budget cuts, salary reductions, and layoffs pierce the headlines of museum news. The Brooklyn Museum is one of the most recent institutions …

Flash Points

The Fire’s Good for the Forest: An Interview with David A. Ross

by Kelly Huang | May 13, 2009

Flash Points

The Fire’s Good for the Forest: An Interview with David A. Ross

by Kelly Huang | May 13, 2009

David A. Ross, best known for his directorships at the Whitney Museum of American Art and SFMOMA, has taken on a variety of leadership positions in the art world. Besides …

Flash Points

Free & Clear: Exhibition and the Free Store

by Kemi Ilesanmi | May 12, 2009

Flash Points

Free & Clear: Exhibition and the Free Store

by Kemi Ilesanmi | May 12, 2009

Is free sometimes the best value for art?  Well, it certainly can be when artists and curators turn an inquisitive and critically-engaged eye towards the nature of exchange, regeneration, and …

Flash Points

What a Way to Make a Living: New Artist Economies and the Role of the Arts Administrator

by Tracy Candido | May 7, 2009

Flash Points

What a Way to Make a Living: New Artist Economies and the Role of the Arts Administrator

by Tracy Candido | May 7, 2009

I am an arts administrator, which is arguably the second invisible position in line behind the artist. The administrator’s cultural discount is not only applied when independently presenting an exhibition …

Flash Points

The Power of Now: Adrian Piper’s Indexical Present

by Julia Steinmetz | May 7, 2009

Flash Points

The Power of Now: Adrian Piper’s Indexical Present

by Julia Steinmetz | May 7, 2009

Everyone has heard about the value of “being in the moment,” letting thoughts of the past and worries about the future drip away while focusing on the here and now. …

Flash Points

An Interview with EnjoyBanking, New York’s $treet Artist$

by Hrag Vartanian | May 6, 2009

Flash Points

An Interview with EnjoyBanking, New York’s $treet Artist$

by Hrag Vartanian | May 6, 2009

For months, I’ve been spotting countless friendly and ironic stickers popping up across the city’s art-friendly zones. These cutesy bubble-lettered slogans scream “Enjoy Subprime Lending,” “Enjoy Credit Crunch,” “Enjoy Bailout …

Flash Points

The Simpsons Family (Art) Values

by Julia Steinmetz | May 1, 2009

Flash Points

The Simpsons Family (Art) Values

by Julia Steinmetz | May 1, 2009

It seems The Simpsons has something to say about everything, including the value of art. In “Mom and Pop Art,” a treasure of an episode from 1999, Homer is discovered …

Flash Points

W.A.G.E. LIVE!

by Marc Mayer | Apr 30, 2009

Flash Points

W.A.G.E. LIVE!

by Marc Mayer | Apr 30, 2009

After reading Trong Gia Nyugen’s great interview with activist group Working Artists and the Greater Economy (W.A.G.E.), I become really interested in their work. I started to poke around the …

Flash Points

For the Love of God: The Artist as Capitalist

by Julia Steinmetz | Apr 29, 2009

Flash Points

For the Love of God: The Artist as Capitalist

by Julia Steinmetz | Apr 29, 2009

In 2007, artist Damien Hirst exhibited a work at the White Cube gallery in London which is reputed to be the most expensive contemporary artwork ever made. Entitled For the …

Flash Points

W.A.G.E. Against the Machine

by Trong Gia Nguyen | Apr 27, 2009

Flash Points

W.A.G.E. Against the Machine

by Trong Gia Nguyen | Apr 27, 2009

Last September, as part of Creative Time’s Democracy in America: The National Campaign event at the Park Avenue Armory, activist group Working Artists and the Greater Economy (W.A.G.E.) stumped for …

Flash Points

Experimental Economies: Talking with Chicago’s InCUBATE

by Beth Capper | Apr 22, 2009

Flash Points

Experimental Economies: Talking with Chicago’s InCUBATE

by Beth Capper | Apr 22, 2009

In the current state of financial precariousness, artists and arts administrators need to build mutually beneficial trust economies and supportive networks to rally for funding. And with arts institutions and …

Flash Points

Feeling the pinch: museums and the recession

by Kelly Shindler | Apr 16, 2009

Flash Points

Feeling the pinch: museums and the recession

by Kelly Shindler | Apr 16, 2009

I could preface this post with all sorts of opining about the responsibilities of museums to their constituents and staffs in the face of the ethics crises many are confronting …

Flash Points

The value of supporting artists

by Lila Kanner | Apr 11, 2009

Flash Points

The value of supporting artists

by Lila Kanner | Apr 11, 2009

Taking stock of the value of art is integrally tied to the value of artists. Artists’ work as educators, mentors and citizens of our communities is vital to a healthy …

Flash Points

Letter from London

Letter from London: Face Value

by Ben Street | Apr 6, 2009

Flash Points

Letter from London

Letter from London: Face Value

by Ben Street | Apr 6, 2009

You can’t have a job in museum education without being asked, at some point, “What’s that worth?” Depending on the questioner, how well the tour went, and how loyal you’re feeling, …

Flash Points

Flash Points #3: What is the Value of Art?

by Beth Allen | Apr 2, 2009

Flash Points

Flash Points #3: What is the Value of Art?

by Beth Allen | Apr 2, 2009

In the late-1990s I took a graduate seminar on “museums and institutional critique” that focused on artistic and curatorial practices in the 1980s and 90s, and included a series of …