Art and the Challenge of Markets Volume 2: From Commodification of Art to Artistic Critiques of Capitalism (Sociology of the Arts)

__Art and the Challenge of Markets Volumes 1 & 2__ examine the politics of art and culture in light of the profound changes that have taken place in the world order since the 1980s and 1990s. The contributors explore how in these two decades, the neoliberal or market-based model of capitalism started to spread from the economic realm to other areas of society. As a result, many aspects of contemporary Western societies increasingly function in the same way as the private enterprise sector under traditional market capitalism. This second volume analyses the relationships of art with contemporary capitalist economies and instrumentalist cultural policies, and examines several varieties of capitalist-critical and alternative art forms that exist in today’s art worlds. It also addresses the vexed issues of art controversies and censorship. The chapters cover issues such as the culturalization of the economy, aesthetics and anti-aesthetics, the societal benefits of works of art, art's responsibility to society, "artivism", activist arts as protest and capitalism-critical works, and controversies over nudity in art, as well as considering the marketisation of emerging visual arts worlds in East Asia. The book ends with the a concluding chapter suggesting that even in today's marketized and commercialized environments, art will find a way. Both volumes provide students and scholars across a range of disciplines with an incisive, comparative overview of the politics of art and culture and national, international and transnational art worlds in contemporary capitalism. Preface 7 Acknowledgments 10 Contents 11 List of Contributors 14 List of Figures 15 List of Tables 17 Part 1: Introduction 18 1: Capitalist Economy as a Precondition and Restraint of Modern and Contemporary Art Worlds 19 Introduction 19 The Emergence and Establishment of Capitalist Ways of Action 22 Art’s Relative Autonomy in Classical Modernity 26 Cultural Enterprises Versus Commercial Enterprises 32 The Phase of Organized Capitalism and the Expansive Welfare State 34 The Contemporary Phase of Capitalism 36 The Structure of This Book 43 References 47 Part 2: Contemporary Capitalist Economy and the Demands of Art’s Societal Utility and Responsibility 50 2: Culturalization of the Economy and the Artistic Qualities of Contemporary Capitalism 51 Introduction 51 The Political Promise of the Creative Economy 54 Culturalization of the Economy as a Qualitative Turn 60 Artistic Qualities of Contemporary Capitalism: Lessons from John Cage 63 Ephemerality 64 Relationality 67 Coproductivity 69 Conclusions: Reading Capitalism Through Art 71 References 74 3: Neoliberal Marketization of Global Contemporary Visual Art Worlds: Changes in Valuations and the Scope of Local and Global Markets 79 The Neoliberal Marketization of Art Worlds: Commensuration and Financialization 82 Commensuration of Art Markets 83 Financialization of Art Markets 88 Neoliberal Marketization (Commensuration and Financialization) and the Rise of Asian Art Markets 91 Neoliberal Marketization and the New Constellation Between Local and Global Art Markets 98 Conclusion 104 References 107 Internet-Based Sources 110 4: Art, Capitalist Markets, and Society: Insights and Reflections on Contemporary Art 112 Introduction 112 The Beginning of a New Era 115 Art and Power 121 Art Between Engagement and Production 122 Closing Remarks 125 References 127 5: Art as a Means to Produce Social Benefits and Social Innovations 130 Introduction: Changes in the Artistic Field 130 Social Art: A Theoretical Framework 133 Social Benefits and Social Innovations 135 Social Art in Poland: Research Findings 138 Social Art in Public Space 138 Social Art in Local Communities 142 Social Art in Minority Groups 146 Conclusions 150 References 153 Interviews Cited in the Chapter 153 Research Literature 154 6: A Plea for Responsible Art: Politics, the Market, Creation 157 “It’s Politics” 160 “It’s the Market!” 164 “So, Is It Sociology?” 167 A Plea for Responsible Art 172 In Lieu of a Conclusion: Toward a Prepositional Art 176 References 179 Part 3: Alternative and Critical Art Production and Its Control 182 7: Artistic Critique on Capitalism as a Practical and Theoretical Problem 183 Introduction 183 Capitalism, the Spirit of Capitalism, and Critique 185 Forms and Manners of the Critique on Capitalism 186 Dynamics of Change: The Role of Critique 189 The Current State of the Critique on Capitalism: Crisis, Controversies, and Redeployments 192 The First Controversy: The Artistic Activity/Critique as a Model for a Neoliberal Economy 193 The Second Controversy: The Role of Artistic Critique Versus Social Critique 195 Revival and Redeployment of the Artistic Critique: Against New Forms of Commodification 197 Further Controversies: The Concept of “Critique” in Sociology 200 Revival of the Social Critique: The Sociology of Emancipation (Boltanski) as a New Form of Social Critique 202 Critique, Creativity, and Creative Lifestyles 205 Roles of Artistic Creativity and Critique in the Normative Change6 211 Conclusion 214 References 217 8: De-aestheticization and the Dialectics of the Aesthetic and Anti-aesthetic in Contemporary Art 222 Introduction 222 Aestheticization, Anaestheticization, and De-aestheticization 225 The Postmodern Crisis and the Contemporary: Aesthetic and Anti-aesthetic 229 The Decline of the Anti-aesthetic and the Politics of Beauty 235 Conclusion 238 References 240 9: Artivism and the Spirit of Avant-Garde Art 243 A New Art Form? 243 Labeling Artivism 246 Precursors in the Twentieth Century 249 Artivism Now, Part 1: Occupy 250 Artivism Now, Part 2: The Arab Spring, Pussy Riot, and Ai Weiwei 258 Artivism in Opposition 263 References 267 10: Dirty Pictures: Scandal and Censorship in Contemporary Art 270 Introduction 270 Sensation 273 Nude Men 278 The Virgin-Whore Church 282 Conclusion 287 References 293 Part 4: Afterword 299 11: Manifestations and Conditions of Art 300 Introduction 300 The United States, Europe, and the Neoliberal Society 301 “Art Finds a Way” 304 Historical Perspectives 306 “Whatever Happened to Postmodernism?” 308 Terry Smith and Contemporary Art 313 Art Under Neoliberalism: Complicit, Critical, or ...? 317 References 320 Index 322 Front Matter ....Pages i-xxi Front Matter ....Pages 1-1 Capitalist Economy as a Precondition and Restraint of Modern and Contemporary Art Worlds (Erkki Sevänen)....Pages 3-33 Front Matter ....Pages 35-35 Culturalization of the Economy and the Artistic Qualities of Contemporary Capitalism (Juhana Venäläinen)....Pages 37-64 Neoliberal Marketization of Global Contemporary Visual Art Worlds: Changes in Valuations and the Scope of Local and Global Markets (Kangsan Lee)....Pages 65-97 Art, Capitalist Markets, and Society: Insights and Reflections on Contemporary Art (Ilaria Riccioni)....Pages 99-116 Art as a Means to Produce Social Benefits and Social Innovations (Katarzyna Niziołek)....Pages 117-143 A Plea for Responsible Art: Politics, the Market, Creation (Antoine Hennion)....Pages 145-169 Front Matter ....Pages 171-171 Artistic Critique on Capitalism as a Practical and Theoretical Problem (Dan Eugen Ratiu)....Pages 173-211 De-aestheticization and the Dialectics of the Aesthetic and Anti-aesthetic in Contemporary Art (Gerard Vilar)....Pages 213-233 Artivism and the Spirit of Avant-Garde Art (Dagmar Danko)....Pages 235-261 Dirty Pictures: Scandal and Censorship in Contemporary Art (Anne E. Bowler)....Pages 263-291 Front Matter ....Pages 293-293 Manifestations and Conditions of Art (Aleš Erjavec)....Pages 295-316 Back Matter ....Pages 317-328 Volumes 1 and 2 of 'Art and the Challenge of Markets' examine the politics of art and culture in light of the profound changes that have taken place in the world order since the 1980s and 1990s. The contributors explore how, in these two decades, the neoliberal or market-based model of capitalism started to spread from the economic realm to other areas of society. As a result, many aspects of contemporary Western societies increasingly function in the same way as the private enterprise sector under traditional market capitalism