Economies: How does creative practice sit within systems of power and exchange?

“If the art world shared one principle, it would be that nothing is more important than the art itself. Some people really believe this; others know it’s de rigueur.” (Thornton xiii)

In curator Gerald Matt’s conversation with Cairo-born artists Amal Kenawy, Kenawy attempts to distance herself from what she calls the “fashionable/trendy” topics of Middle Eastern and Muslim art. (Kenawy 138) Rather than positioning herself in the broader Arab world, Kenawy prefers to define herself as an Egyptian artist, whose art “reflects Egyptian society, as a product of its social-cultural, political, and economic climate as well as of its cultural heritage and history.” (Kenawy 135)

Trends and fashion in art indicate what Kenawy refers to as “ideas that produce artwork made with a purpose in mind.” (Kenawy 137) When the art world in seen to promote certain themes or topics through patronage, exhibition curation, and the selection of award candidates, it seems impossible to ignore the systems of power and exchange which are at work.

Sociologist Sarah Thornton’s book Seven Days in the Art World examines these systems, describing the contemporary art world as “a loose network of overlapping subcultures held together by a belief in art.” (Thornton xi) Thornton places creative practice as just one facet of the “diverse, opaque and downright secretive” art world, made up of hierarchies of dealers, collectors, auction houses and curators. Thornton writes to expose, but there is accuracy in her observations of the control in contemporary art market. Artists begin to appear insignificant in a global machine that is susceptible to changes in fashion and politics.

The rise of the ‘super star’ artist (i.e. Damien Hurst) clearly exposes the existence of these structures within the art world. Artists like Hurst and Takashi Murakami make the market work for them by bypassing the gallery and dealer system and going straight to the auction. Thornton has said of Murakami, “it is hard to tell where the art ends and the commerce begins.” (McGlone)

This is certainly one means to acknowledge and work within the systems of power that exist within the art market. Kenawy opts for a more low-key approach: she shows her work in the exhibitions she feels are making “generalisations and geographic standardisations that have resulted from [the Middle East/Arab art] fad,” but exerts back her own control by making a point of “presenting something contrary to what is expected, contrary to clichés.” (Kenawy 138)

The most important consideration for artists might be the acknowledgement of the system, which can help to create more transparency within its structures.

References:
Matt, Gerald. “Amal Kenawy” Interviews 2 Kunstalle Wein, Vienna (2008) pp. 134 – 141
McGlone, Jackie. “Sarah Thornton: Swimming with Sharks” The Scotsman (30 September 2008)
Thornton, Sarah. Seven Days in the Art World Granta, London (2008)