Bad at Sports » economy

Art Work Newspaper Looks at Economy’s Impact on Cultural Production

Claudine Isé — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 15:56:49 +0000

The rise of the “free economy” that Chris Anderson lauded in his book Free: The Future of a Radical Price (read Cory Doctorow’s astute review of the book’s arguments in the Guardian here) takes on an entirely different, and far less celebratory, meaning when applied to the work of artists, critics, curators, arts administrators and other low-paid (or no-paid) culture workers today. A newly launched newspaper called Art Work is attempting to lay bare hard truths about the flailing economy’s impact on cultural production. Finally, people are starting to talk about money, explicitly and on personal terms. Or at least, they’re trying to.

Put out by Temporary Services (who were interviewed on the Podcast in Episode 218) the newspaper, distributed in both print and online forms, looks for alternative routes past market-based economies through articles that address resource sharing, collective action and other methods of keeping on with the keeping on when there’s very little money to oil the gears. In an article titled “This is Our Real Job,” the Temporary Services crew outline their primary source of dissatisaction with the status quo: the dominance of market forces over the production of art. It’s a well-worded introduction to the project that frames the discourses contained within as a whole. In a key paragraph, they argue,

“For far too long, the rhetoric and logic of the market has dominated the production of discourse and livelihoods around art. Letting the market decide, as Reagan, Milton Friedman, and other ghosts of capital past cried, has drastically limited what we think art is and can be in our society. We have seen how quickly the commercial market collapsed, hurting large numbers of people. The commercial art market in the United States has hemorrhaged gallery after gallery. The flocks in the stables have been turned loose into the wilds of uncertainty and worry that the rest of us live in as normalcy. There will be no bailout or economic triage to save the galleries. The financial collapse has put a big crack in the hegemony over resources and discourse that the commercial system has long enjoyed. It is now even harder to see success in the speculative art market as a viable option for most artists, though the dictates of the market are still what gets passed off as curriculum for an MFA at most universities.”

My favorite section of the newspaper is tagged “Personal Economy.” Here, individual contributors really get honest –albeit anonymously–about their own financial situations as culture workers. It ‘aint pretty. But it’s strangely empowering to learn that other people are in similar boats as you are–working for free or close to it, struggling to balance soul-crushing day jobs with creative labor, and trying to make real connections with peers that aren’t based solely on what the other person can do for you.

As a writer, I mostly work for free, and I often feel embarrassed about that. Although it’s not like I made tons of cash when I worked as a museum professional, nowadays I don’t contribute any meaningful income to my family’s bank account, and yet I am engaged in “work” that takes me away from the household labor to which, as a stay at home mother and an extremely reluctant housewife, I must also be committed. Despite my own personal distaste for the type of fevered rhetoric to which projects like Art Work typically fall prey (i.e., lots of poetically-written bitching, with precious few workable solutions put forth) I found most of the articles in Art Work to be incredibly compelling and personally meaningful. “The personal is political,” Anne Elizabeth Moore reminds us in her contribution to the newspaper. By demanding that we start talking openly and explicitly about money and its impact on the work we do, Art Work reframes that old bromide in ways that have the potential to rouse and discomfit us anew.

Oversize Art, How Does It Fit In A Undersize Economy?

Christopher — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:57:38 +0000

Kelly Crow with the Wall Street Journal kicks off the new Weekly full color arts coverage in WSJ magazine with “Out Size Art” an article that explores the influence that the recession has on consumers desire to invest in large-scale art installation pieces. As buyers scale back, large pieces are the first to go asking are they more of a headache then a dramatic statement.

Ernesto Neto’s “Mother Body Emotional Densities, for Alive Temple Time Baby Son” (2007)

Art Institute Lays off 22 Employees, or 3% of Staff

Claudine Isé — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 01:06:11 +0000

Further on Christopher’s post from this morning, here’s more info on the Art Institute layoffs, from the Chicago Tribune:

“The Art Institute of Chicago has laid off 22 employees, or 3 percent of its staff, as part of a larger series of cost-cutting measures.

Spokeswoman Erin Hogan said Friday that the cuts were made across the board and take effect immediately. Employees were notified Thursday.

“Of course we did everything we could to not go to this point,” Hogan said. “All departments have for months been reducing their operating budgets.”

Hogan added that new Modern Wing, which opened last month, “has been incredibly successful and it’s in part due to the success of the building that the cuts were not deeper.”

In a statement issued Friday, the Art Institute said its other cost-cutting measures include a voluntary 10 percent pay cut for the director, a weeklong unpaid furlough for employees and a salary freeze. Public research hours at the Ryerson and Burnham Libraries will also be reduced, the statement said.”

Fridays Links Roundup

Meg Onli — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:19:39 +0000

On this weeks roundup we check out the conservation of contemporary art, AFC’s recap of Venice and Basel, and most importantly cats getting stoned via boing boing. Hope everyone has a great weekend and maybe well see you at galleries tonight.

Paddy Johnson’s recap of this years Art Basel and Venice Biennale. It didn’t sound like we missed much.
Ed Winkleman’s post on starting a commercial art gallery in a poor economy.
“Millennium Park’s tradition of dazzling and delayed public art goes on“
Becky Smith is closing Bellweather in New York after 10 years.
Art 21 has a great post by Richard McCoy about the the conservation of contemporary art.
Turner Prize winner Steve McQueen will be showing his Deadpan in Times Square.
Dieter Rams on Plural Blog
“Judge Slams MoMA, Guggenheim on Secret Holocaust Art Agreement.” That doesn’t sound good.
Offworld has a sneak peak at a follow up to my favorite Iphone game Rolando 2!!!

Breaking News: Art Institute Layoffs

Christopher — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:45:41 +0000

We just heard that The Art Institute of Chicago has laid of a good many of it’s employees today and there will be a town-hall tomorrow where other cost saving measures will be announced.

To those who lost their jobs today, be sure to thank Alderman Burke…..

Office: 773-471-1414
eburke@cityofchicago.org

On behalf of everyone at Bad at Sports we know very well what this is like and hope everyone lands on their feet as quickly as this economy will allow.

Wednesday Clips

Claudine Isé — Wed, 20 May 2009 15:21:31 +0000

A few stories, blog posts, and interesting discussions in Chicago and beyond that are on my mind this week.

**Image credit: Shannon Keller, Knitter. Keller’s work is currently on view at Show Cave in L.A. (via The World’s Best Ever).

*CAA Study finds over-reliance on part-time faculty in American higher education.

*New York Times looks at how artists are adjusting to economic hardship.

*Edward Winkleman asks his readers why the view that art is ‘unmasculine’ still persists?

*Chicago artist and illustrator Lauren Nassef’s “A Drawing a Day” still going strong.

*Joanne Mattera bites back after receiving a cease and desist letter warning her not to write about vanity galleries (a.k.a. ‘pay to show’ schemes).

*The architecture of ‘evil lairs’ at BLDGBLOG (via C-Monster). Makes me long for the days I still had time to play videogames.

*Chicagoist’s report on the Society for News Design’s conference and discussions about what’s happening in the Chicago journalism scene. Very interesting write-up here, including follow-up comments.

*”The practice of art gets the criticism it deserves”–Great piece on how the internet is changing critics and art criticism by John Haber.

*Another good read on the above topic: “Arts Writing and ‘The New Thing’” at Peripheral Vision. (Meg has also twittered numerous of-the-moment links on the topic of arts journalism this past week, make sure to check those out too).

That’s all for now. I’m off to see Several Silences at The Renaissance Society.

Bad at Sports » economy

Art Work Newspaper Looks at Economy’s Impact on Cultural Production

Related Posts

Oversize Art, How Does It Fit In A Undersize Economy?

Related Posts

Art Institute Lays off 22 Employees, or 3% of Staff

Related Posts

Fridays Links Roundup

Related Posts

Breaking News: Art Institute Layoffs

Related Posts

Wednesday Clips

Related Posts