I wanted to focus on the political and social issues in todays art, but I realized that art always has a social message. Art is made to critique the everyday world and that cycle will continue to renew itself with every new generation. For every Pop artist and Surrealists, there will be a modern day artist to take their place. So to move on and focus on something that has truly become an issue in art (and an issue I believe will become more prevalent in the near future), I would like to discuss the rising costs of art. More and more private collectors are dominating the art market, resulting in art that is selling for well over their appraisal prices. This seems normal for a commodity that is regularly viewed as a luxury item, especially when the lines between celebrity and artists are so often blurred, but with so many anonymous buyers controlling the auctions, how are the people supposed to get to the art? I will focus on that question another time, but for now I would like to review an article from a year ago in the New York Times. Writer Carol Vogel followed the auction house Sotheby’s, in the article “Rothko Breaks a Record for Contemporary Art”, and uncovered how in one night they sold nearly $260 million worth of art. May 15, 2007, Sotheby’s sold the record breaking “White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose)”, by Rothko, for an astounding $72.8 million dollars. The buyer was annonymous and according to Vogel,

“The $72.8 million he paid, far above the painting’s $40 million estimate, set records for both the artist and for any contemporary work at auction.” (Vogel, New York Times, May 16, 2007)

Rothko’s “White Center (Yellow, Pink, and Lavender on Rose)”

This brings up the question of “where are the buyers coming from?” Vogel mentions in her article that the auction held that night had currency from around the world, hinting that buyers from previously underrepresented countries are beginning to make a presence in the market.

“Seasoned auctiongoers noticed that last night rubles appeared for the first time on the salesroom’s currency board, along with dollars, euros, pounds and Swiss francs — an indication of the strong presence of big-spending Russians in the art market.” (Vogel, New York Times, May 16, 2007)

To emphasize the increase in art collecting, Vogel points out that there were 74 pieces to sell and only nine of them were not sold. In addition to Rothko, four other artists broke records for high selling prices, including Morris Louis (whose work can be seen at the newly renovated LACMA).

The main point of thins article, which Vogel helpfully explains in the end, is the fact that Sotheby’s made so much money that night because they did a wonderful job of advertising as well as trusted that the rising prices in art would continue to rise. For example, Sotheby’s promised the seller of the Rothko piece, who happened to be David Rockefeller, that it would make $46 million dollars. The estimate of $40 million was already near double the price another Rothko made at auction previously. Shockingly, in 1960, Rockefeller bought the piece in question for only $10,000 and was now earning substantially more for it.

Another big jump in price that Vogel writes about was the selling of Basquiat’s untitled painting from 1981. The piece was estimated to sell for close to $8 million, but because of Sotheby’s good timing and trust in the rising market, the piece took in $14.6 million from another unidentified buyer. Vogel explained:

“Again, Sotheby’s gambled well. Six bidders went after the painting, which sold to yet another unidentified telephone bidder for $14.6 million, nearly triple the previous $5.5 million record set at Christie’s in 2002 . The New York collectors Barbara and Eugene Schwartz bought it for $3,150 the year it was painted” (Vogel, New York Times, May 16, 2007)

Vogel’s article gives great insight into the changing world of art auctions and collecting. The market is becoming more expensive and staggering prices are even baffling the regulars at the auction houses. One important thing I took from this article was that there are new buyers beginning to collect and less museums buying for their exhibits. This switch in consuming may be the key to the skyrocketing prices, if people are willing to buy, museums may not stand a chance next to private wealth.

Vogel, Carol. “Rothko Breaks a Record for Contemporary Art.” The New York Times, May 16, 2007, sec. Arts / Art & Design. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/16/arts/design/16auction.html?em&ex=1179460800&en=4aeb9f83725ccd5b&ei=5087%0A.

Recently I came across the MOCA website and was pleasantly surprised to see that the Geffen Contemporary will be recreating the work of well known artist Allan Kaprow. Kaprow created a style of art during the 50s and 60s known as Happenings. This term comes from the fact that the art “pieces” are acted out in real life rather than depicted in an object. Generally Happenings are slightly different every time they are acted and the viewers as well as the actors become the artwork themselves. The idea is to take the emotion that was prevalent in the artists before Kaprow, the Abstract Expressionists, and make it a living thing rather then a representation. This event seems like a great thing to be displaying at a contemporary museum, but it made me begin to think of why museums and galleries are recreating the events that one may read in their art history books. It is one thing to display a painting for the reason of public display, but the events such as Happenings are normally seen today in photos. Why are we recreating them? Not only are events being recreated, but does that influence new artists to produce simalarly political art?

I believe that most art movements are driven by some social or political issue that influence the physical qualities of an artwork and with every generation, there are new social issues to address, therefore the creation of new movements is always occurring. But, I would like to know, is this creation really just a recycling of what has already happened. The past seems to be cyclical in other forms of expression and style, such as fashion, food, architecture, even hairstyles, so it seems only natural to include art into the cyclical category. As with every rebirth, a modern aspect is added and I think this is causing artists today to continue the tradition of art with a message, only this time the message is relevant to the younger generation. For example, current issues within the U.S, like the economy, or more specific issues like the flood in New Orleans.

The recreation of Happenings at MOCA is one clue to this rebirth of socially driven art, but I have a feeling that the socially aware public during these times of politics and war are the bigger reasons museums are trying to satisfy their audience. A popular example from the past comes from 1970 when artist Hans Haacke created an installation in the Museum of Modern Art, in New York, where he posted the question “Would the fact that Governor Rockefeller has not denounced President Nixon’s Indochina policy be a reason for you not to vote for him in November?”, as seen in the image below.

What seemed shocking about his installation was the fact that the Rockefeller family heavily supported MOMA as well as the clear boxes which easily revealed the general consensus to the viewers. Haacke’s other work was politically driven as well, as was much of the art during the 60s and 70s. Haacke believed that art was lodged between social and political conflicts and the growing resistance to the Vietnam war as well as civil rights struggles fueled the creativity and messages behind artwork. With similar political issues in today’s world, art similar to Haacke can be found in the street art movement. One of the most well known and political street artist working today would be Banksy. His work is comprised of well known images manipulated to critique a social or political issue. Since the majority of his work is combined with public buildings, the message is clearly a critique of the edifice he chooses to tag.

This piece, provided by banksy, is painted on a security fench and depicts children digging towards paradise. Similar to the anti-Vietnam art, this piece critiques political issues that are relevant to the viewers of today.

As political and social art become more discovered, it looks like artists will countinue to push the boundaries to get their message across. With the introduction and wide spread interest in street art, these messages are more easily read than fifty years ago. The treand seems to be continuing with the use of street art for the birthplace of these messages, but as street artist begin to be more widely accepted within the gallery space, I think political art will probably become more blatant with less censorship.

Last week I accomplished two firsts, taking advantage of the Los Angeles bus system and visiting an exciting new gallery. The gallery in question is the Redcat gallery, located behind the Walt Disney Concert Hall, owned by CalArts. What was most exciting about this trip was that the Dash bus system drops you off right in front of the gallery for a mere 25 cents. The show at Redcat is a compilation of the works from acclaimed poster maker, Ed Fella, and graphic designer, Geoff Mcfeteridge. Read about the show from the link below then wait at your nearest bus stop to catch a ride downtown.

Ed Fella and Geoff McFetridge | REDCAT

from edfella.com

Copro Nason Galleries, at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica, debuted a solo show by emerging artist Audrey Kawasaki this past Saturday. Audrey has become well known for her intimate drawings of girls and nature. She paints directly onto polished wood panels, creating an interesting, yet beautiful effect. The show will be up until March 1st and is definitely worth the trip to Santa Monica. The show has many prints from her work, but in another room there are mostly originals, so make sure to look at her techniques close up.

from audrey-kawasaki.com

For the first artist to grace this blog, I would like to introduce some new work from the amazingly talented James Jean. James studied at the School of Visual Arts in New York and has won numerous medals from the Society of Illustrators in LA and New York. His whimsical drawings are popular among the illustrated novel crowd, but his most recent work can be seen on the runway from Prada’s spring line. The fabrics are adorned with fairies and plant life, done up in deep purples and greens, creating a fantasy world played out on skirts, blouses, and dresses. James has also designed the illustrations in Prada’s print ads and is currently working on a short film. Check out more of his work at www.jamesjean.com and www.prada.com.

Chemistry from www.jamesjean.com