"The future of handbag photography" November 7, 2008
"Our long national nightmare is over," wrote Richard Lacayo on November 4th. But the Time Magazine critic was referring to art, not politics. Noting the miserable results of a recent Christies auction, Lacayo sounds almost giddy. "We will be entering upon a time when we won't have to spend so much mental energy putting aside the market value of a work before trying to think about it in any other way."
The critic Jerry Saltz also foresees major change. In a recent article on ArtNet he predicts the closing of 40 to 50 galleries and at least one major art fair. But I was particularly interested to read his take on how this will affect artists. "Many younger artists who made a killing will be forgotten quickly. Others will be seen mainly as relics of a time when marketability equaled likability." Like Lacayo, he sees an upside. "The good news is that, since almost no one will be selling art, artists -- especially emerging ones -- won't have to think about turning out a consistent style or creating a brand."
few years ago a major collector pulled me aside to offer some advice. "If you want success in the art world," he told me, "the key is to find your thing and never change." His advice almost had me vomiting on his Hirst, but he was probably right. The commerce of art isn't much different than the commerce of handbags. It is all about showing off the brand.
One wonders how the collapsing markets might affect the larger universe (or is it a ghetto?) of the photography world. Will gimmickry and branding become less prominent? Will documentation take precedence over decoration? Will people start caring less about the bag than the stuff it is carrying?
