Sales Records and Auction
Catalogues:
Artist Valuation and the
Omnipresent Misogyny in the Arts
Information science generally puts emphasis, rightfully so, on
sale and auction records as evidentiary support for authenticity of works by way
of provenance. These records can be used as tools for artists to establish
valuation and also and can also provide insight into the , the
relationships between artists, curators, movements and the auction houses, and
the artist’s social sphere. Users interested in data aggregation of
auction records are artists, art historians, researchers, professors and the
staff of cultural heritage (CH) institutions. Additionally, those outside
of the CH realm are also well acquainted with auction and sales catalogues,
mostly investors and collectors.
Art auction and sales records are of special interest to artists
as it can determine the valuation of their work. Unconventional works such as
performance art found its space in the contemporary largely due to Marina
Ambromovic and Sean Kelly (1) who carved out a space for performance art in the
canon of art history by monetizing it.
“Early on, they
began mapping out a strategy for her career. Their first move was to print and
frame 12 stills from Abramovic’s pre-Ulay performance pieces, which sold to
“enlightened, philanthropic collectors” for as little as $3,500, says Kelly.
Early investors were likely looking to support Abramovic rather than turn a
profit, but those same works now fetch about $45,000.(2)”
The figures mentioned in the quote from Bloomberg News above are
harvested from super Auction house Christies these numbers represent much more
than the figure themselves it is a roadmap to the valuation of Ambromovic’s
work, it is synonymous with the history of performance value.
Christie’s and Sotheby’s Auction Houses control a large portion of
the art market. While the date of their shift to web is unclear, one
would think that after the scandal with Sotheby’s, which exposed the two
powerhouses for their collusion collaboration on a price fixing scheme that
lasted from 1993-2000(3), that, given their opportunity for rebirth and
modernization, their adaptation to the web would include women and artists of
color, who have been historically and systematically devalued in the arts
market. As a by product of this, woman and POC are more often than not
omitted from art history.
This is exemplified by Christie’s attempts to enrich artists’
biblio-data by giving the collectors an “intimate” dialogue with artists via video
portraits, studio visits and interviews. Unfortunately, they fail to represent
the diversity of the art world, featuring 99% male and predominantly white
artists. Perhaps in Anna
Heyward’s piece on Feminist works Elizabeth A. Sackler said
it best:
“Art
sale statistics are a symptom...The disease we face is fundamental disrespect
for women and unacceptable attitudes that women’s thinking, observations, and
creative output hold little value. I point you to the November 12, 2014
Christie’s Post War Contemporary Art auction that featured 82 lots: 79 men and
three women.”
Honestly, the real icing on the cake is a video bio of the
conceptual photographer Cindy Sherman, in which two men, including Philippe Ségalot(5), are interviewed about her art
and processes over the years.(6)
The consequences of these controlled markets affect the art world
in its entirety, from the canon art history to major institutions.
This visualized data(7) depicting the percentage of male vs. female solo shows, reflects the omnipresent misogyny of valuation in the
art world. Additionally, these datasets lay the frame work for artists like the Guerrilla Girls(8); whose goal is to expose the lack of women, diversity and noninclusive gender bias in museums and collections. Collectively of need to understand the
hierarchical structures in the realm of the arts.
- Gallery owner of Sean Kelly Gallery
- Winter, Carol. The World’s Most Famous Performance Artist Needs to Make Real Money. (2015, Feb 27) http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-27/marina-abramovic-tries-to-monetize-performance-art
- Ashenfelter, Orley. Graddy, Kathryn. The Rise and Fall of a Price-Fixing Conspiracy: Auctions Sotheby’s and Christie’s. (2004, Sept) Retrieved from http://www.nber.org/papers/w10795.pdf
- The founder for Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art at the Brooklyn Museum
- Former Christie’s employee and considered on of the most “influential men” in art
- Sothebys. (2015, Oct 3) Retrieved from http://www.sothebys.com/en/news-video/videos.html#&page=2&sort=desc
- Reilly, Maura. Taking the Measure of Sexism: Facts, Figures, and Fixes. (2015, May 25)Retrieved from http://www.artnews.com/2015/05/26/taking-the-measure-of-sexism-facts-figures-and-fixes/.
- Guerrilla Girls. Guerrilla Girls 30th Birthday Exhibition Introduction Video. (2015, May)Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebYiHRWNdC8
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