The Confounding Unity of Art and Commerce – Andrey Elinson

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In today's world, it is difficult for an artist to realize their creative potential without art marketing, says art critic Andrey Elinson

How do commissioned works affect the culture of creativity? To answer this question, we need to delve into history.

Since time immemorial, people have argued whether it is acceptable for artists to work on demand or whether material interest kills the freedom of creativity. The very prototype of the art market with its two main elements – the artist and the customer – was formed back in ancient Greece. Artists sold their works far beyond their places of residence, with cities, temples, or private individuals acting as buyers. The art market of antiquity was based on a system of orders and tenders. Artists competed against each other, and the customer received the work of art recognized as the best.

"These historical facts refute the myth that the commercialization of art is a mark of our times, which some conservatives call the soulless age of consumption," notes Andrey Elinson. "Proponents of the theory that art should be completely separate from commerce like to use Vincent Van Gogh, the misunderstood genius who created his paintings with no regard for demand, as an example. However, there are other examples as well. In 1435, the brilliant Jan Van Eyck painted his Madonna of Chancellor Rolin, deemed one of the greatest masterpieces of the early Northern Renaissance. The painting depicts Madonna with a child, and in front of her, the chancellor who commissioned the image for his parish church of Notre-Dame-du-Châtel. The donor's presence in the painting in no way degrades the masterpiece."

Numerous works of art are created every day. The number of collectors keeps growing, and the circle of sponsors and patrons is expanding. The art market space merges the creative and economic spheres into a single whole.

Modern artists create under the conditions imposed by the art market. It sets priorities in a way that makes seemingly opposing concepts interact in a single system.

"In today's world, artists not involved in any art marketing projects simply don't exist for the consumer, which prevents them from realizing their creative potential," says Andrey Elinson. "In Europe, gallery owners invest money in the artists they like, thus generating market value for them and promoting them."

Some think that modern commercialization and globalization threaten to dissolve the cultural phenomenon of art in business. Art is an activity in which one may find knowledge, values, a reflection of reality, and much more. Commerce, in turn, sees the artwork's aesthetic information as a commodity. This concept lies at the very core of the commercial understanding of art. However, Andrey Elinson points out that, unlike the consumer goods market, the art market does not care for large numbers, serialization, or standardization. "The art market focuses on individuality, uniqueness, originality, and exclusivity. It doesn't depend on the amount of investment or production growth. Other factors affecting the art market include culture, politics, art, aesthetics, morals, and ethics. The effects of consumer market products are generally short-lived. Art, on the other hand, retains its value for centuries. An art object becomes a commodity only after it proves its usefulness to the consumer. The value of art objects is determined by market agents, that is, customers in the market system," explains Andrey Elinson.

What factors affect the cost of artworks? "Interestingly, even if a painting is on permanent display in a world-famous museum and its creator is a well-known artist whose other works are auctioned at extremely high starting prices, it is not a sure guarantee of success," says Andrey Elinson. Nevertheless, the expert thinks that PR, marketing, and promotion play an enormous role in today's art market. "To partake in the creative life of society, an artist must promote themselves in the art market. Today, art can be just a commodity with a price and organically integrate into the art market space," says Andrey Elinson.

The greatest financial success is enjoyed by the works of authors who are no longer alive. For example, the Louvre does not acquire paintings by living artists, as do several prominent European museums.

In the spring of 2021, the art community was actively discussing a sensational deal: a painting by the American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, Warrior (1982), was sold at auction in Hong Kong for 323.6 million Hong Kong dollars (about $41.7 million) and became the most expensive work of Western art sold at auctions in Asia. The painting depicts an anthropomorphic figure with fiery eyes and a raised sword against the backdrop of blue and yellow spots. Basquiat, who died of a drug overdose at age 27, painted graffiti on the streets of Manhattan, participated in exhibitions of non-conformist artists, dated the singer Madonna, and was a protégé of Andy Warhol. His is a beautiful story of a star that burned bright and went out early. The New York Times named Basquiat one of the art market's three main blue chips, along with Picasso and Warhol himself. Meanwhile, conspiracy theorists spoke of a plot by art historians, saying that the artist was a commercial project from day one and that his early death, which raised the cost of his paintings, was not accidental.

Andrey Elinson mentions one more curious thing about the art market: the effort that went into creating a work of art has almost no effect on its cost. A painting with a simple plot or even a pencil sketch may raise much more money than a complex and multifigure composition with a paint-laden canvas. For example, it may well have taken Basquiat just a couple of hours to paint his Warrior.

"In a philosophical sense, art and commerce are antagonists. Art is selfless, and commerce is utilitarian. However, there is a mutual attraction between the two, in which art aspires to become effective, and commerce – artistic. Today, art and commerce must coexist in the art market space while maintaining a confounding unity," believes Andrey Elinson.