An Anthropology of Contemporary Art: Practices, Markets, and Collectors (Criminal Practice Series)

"Drawing on the exciting developments that have occurred in the anthropology of art over the last twenty years, this study uses ethnographic methods to explore shifts in the art market and global contemporary art. Recognizing that the huge diversity of global phenomena requires research on the ground, An Anthropology of Contemporary Art examines the local art markets, biennials, networks of collectors, curators, artists, patrons, auction houses, and museums that constitute the global art world. Divided into four parts - Picture and Medium; World Art Studies and Global Art; Art Markets, Maecenas and Collectors; Participatory Art and Collaboration - chapters go beyond the standard emphasis on Europe and North America to present first-hand fieldwork from a wide range of areas, including Brazil, Turkey, and Asia and the Pacific. With contributions from distinguished anthropologists such as Philippe Descola and Roger Sansi Roca, this book provides a fresh approach to key topics in the discipline. A model for demonstrating how contemporary art can be studied ethnographically, this is a vital read for students in anthropology of art, visual anthropology, visual culture, and related fields."--Bloomsbury Publishing Title Page Copyright Page Contents List of Illustrations Contributors Acknowledgments Notes on Texts Introduction Image and Medium World Art and Global Art Art Markets, Maecenas, and Collectors Participatory Art and Collaboration Perspectives Part 1 Image and Medium 1.1 Animism Naturalism Totemism Analogism 1.2 Introduction “New” images Putting things “into perspective” What new images do Conclusions Part 2 World Art Studies and Global Art 2.1 Fashioning postcolonial hybrids Holistic printed surfaces A corpus of deterritorialized iconographies The pictorial cosmologies of reinvented kinship An exegetical use of images Conclusion 2.2 Introduction Biennials of contemporary art The Istanbul Bienal 1987–2007: The “founding narrative” and a retrospective view Recent Istanbul Bienal editions The Istanbul Bienal in its contexts Conclusion Acknowledgments 2.3 The foundation and structure of Dak’Art Discourses of art: Selections and critical voices Artists, art media, and the production of hierarchies Dak’Art within the global art worlds network Conclusion Acknowledgments Part 3 Art Markets, Maecenas, and Collectors 3.1 The setting: Florence, Tuscany, Italy A model of local art markets The contemporary art market in Florence The past in the present Conclusion Acknowledgments 3.2 When art becomes “the safest investment” A share of Brazilian contemporary art in the global art market Latitude: A platform for calculating and promoting the Brazilian market of contemporary art Calculating the market, creating and promoting its images Building an expanding art market Acknowledgments 3.3 Relationality and awkwardness Awkward art I: The Gurlitt art trove Awkward art II: The Colonial Neighbours Archive Concluding thoughts: On an anthropology of awkwardness in art Acknowledgments 3.4 Mono-causal explanations in terms of obsession Hotel and private house full of art Entrepreneurship, art, and networking Motivations of collecting and gifts to museums Conclusions Part 4 Participatory Art and Collaboration 4.1 What kind and for whom? A critical presence An uneasy relationship Conclusions: Parallel convergences Acknowledgments 4.2 Contemporary art in São Paulo Epistemic disobedience Participation and the production of knowledge Networks Conclusion 4.3 Relational art and its critics Relational and post-relational anthropology Relational management Nonrelationality Conclusions: There is no way out of relations—but that may be OK Notes References Index Drawing on the exciting developments that have occurred in the anthropology of art over the last twenty years, this study uses ethnographic methods to explore shifts in the art market and global contemporary art. Recognizing the need for research on the ground, it examines the various component parts, from art markets through auction houses to networks of collectors, that constitute the global art world. Divided into four parts-Picture and Medium; World Art Studies and Global Art; Art Markets, Maecenas and Collectors; Participatory Art and Collaboration-the chapters go beyond the standard emphasis on Europe and North America to present first-hand fieldwork from a wide range of areas, including Brazil, Turkey, Asia and the Pacific. With contributions from Philippe Descola and Roger Sansi Roca, this book provides a fresh approach to key topics in the discipline. A model for demonstrating how contemporary art can be studied ethnographically, this is a vital read for students in anthropology of art, visual anthropology, visual culture, and related fields. Book jacket Picture And Medium -- World Art Studies And Global Art -- Art Markets, Maecenas And Collectors -- Participatory Art And Collaboration. Edited By Thomas Fillitz And Paul Van Der Grijp. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 223-245) And Index.