Art Business: Trading practices and idiosyncratic tastes

Deadline for submission: 30th June 2016 (Abstract: 300 words + references to alfonsinascarinzi@googlemail.com)   Organiser: Alfonsina Scarinzi, Dr. phil.  

Art is for sale and is sold as a commodity by commercial mediators whose role differs from the museums as the cultural mediators that create cultural values for the art world.  Despite the peculiar features of the art market that is considered to be characterized by private values, idiosyncratic tastes, and non-pecuniary benefits of ownership and display, the global art market is booming. According to the TEFAF (European Fine Art Foundation) Art Market Report 2014, the Global Art Market with a focus on the US and China shows that total sales in the international art and antiques market reached €47.4 billion in 2013, an increase of 8% on the previous year. 

In 2015 the price paid for an oil painting by French Post-Impressionist artist Paul Gauguin titled When Will You Marry? made headlines. It sold for almost $300m (£197m), the highest price ever paid for a work of art.  Moreover, one of the last trends in marketing is to combine elements of art galleries with museums, especially in the luxury industry.   The luxury brands of the art market Sotheby’s and Christie’s have contributed to the transformation of the art market in the 21st century by creating and stimulating demand especially in the emergent economies. Both of them have a long history, personal service, elitism and exclusivity.

This workshop seeks cutting-edge contributions that deal with the following questions from different viewpoints:  the history of patronage in Europe, how did dealers and auctioneers go global?, what is the relation between art prices and wealth distribution, what is the role of the potential resale value of an artwork in stimulating the art market?, How do auction techniques influence the target behavior(s) and generate customer identification?, What is the cultural meaning of luxury consumer experience?, The history of the European art market