The Rise and Fall of Alternative Spaces

Throughout the 1970s, New York’s alternative spaces appeared through the spontaneous initiatives of avant-garde artists whose wish was to emancipate art from the institutional and commercial pressures of the art world. The use of decaying urban spaces was thus one of the main characteristics of these spaces. Most of them have disappeared, others have been assimilated by the commercial or institutional art systems.

Where Does the Value of Art Begin?

Part One, Part Two

Where does the value of contemporary art begin in a globalized art market? Taking as a point of departure the comparison between influential sociological studies exploring prices and markets, this two-part essay examines the profound changes that the contemporary art market has experienced before, during and after the Great Recession.

Challenging Mainstream Art

In 2001, art critic and historian Benjamin Buchloh declared the ‘death of art criticism’ during the October journal’s roundtable, “The Present Conditions of Art Criticism.” The following decade witnessed a plethora of articles, conferences, and books devoted to the crisis of criticism–all efforts thus far seem to have failed, the crisis has not been abated.

The Bias and Hypocrisy of the Mainstream Contemporary Art World: Does it bother you?

The common feeling-- at least from what I've observed on art blogs, art forums, and elsewhere-- is that the want of money is held higher than doing what is right from an ethical standpoint. After all, major museum exchanges between the US and China, as well as international art fair involvement involving Chinese art galleries, tend to bolster the Chinese economy-- and thus, a government that is highly oppressive of its own people. It is like feeding a rabid dog that you know will likely bite you.

The art market has changed dramatically – but is it a mature industry?

Once upon a time, art collectors would arrive at a gallery on a Saturday and spend a leisurely afternoon perusing works that might soon be a part of their intimate environment. Today, collectors are more likely to dip into a fair booth, wait for digital images and prices to arrive on their iPhones, and make a handful of six-figure purchases—perhaps destined for a private museum or foundation—in roughly the amount of time it takes to put a few books and some groceries into an Amazon cart and check out. Clearly, things have changed. But is that evolution the hallmark of a “mature” industry?

Art Beyond the Mainstream Art Market: Take an individual approach to success in art

This blind acceptance of what success in art 'should be' often leads to negative thoughts. It becomes an obstacle blocking growth. After all, it is hard to be successful in art if you base success on the attitude of individuals who likely view you as an 'outsider' in the first place. With that in mind, I think that artists need to reconsider what success in art means -- and stop allowing high profile circles of the art world to manipulate how success in art is defined.