I Don’t Make Objects, I Make Projects: Selling Things and Selling Selves in Contemporary Art-making

• In Event: 118 - Section on Economic Sociology Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 17. Selfhood

Abstract

What role do artists play in the valuation of their activities? Theoretical perspectives on art have assumed that such value is closely linked to the prices of art objects, and analyses of cultural industries minimize the place of content providers in the creation and definition of value. By analyzing archival data from a Canadian artists’ organization, we find that artists themselves can drive institutional changes within cultural arenas. Artists over time move discursively from an object-oriented market logic to a market based in the provision of professional services. While language and goals remain stable throughout the period considered, the meanings of words and strategies for attainment of goals are adapted by artists. These findings suggest that because few visual artists are supported primarily through gallery sales, studies of valuation in the arts should move beyond price to investigate immaterial bases of value.

Authors

• Alison Gerber, Uppsala University

• Clayton Childress, University of Toronto