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Author Abbing, Hans, 1946-

Title Why are artists poor? : the exceptional economy of the arts / Hans Abbing
Published Amsterdam : Amsterdam University Press, ©2002

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Description 1 online resource (367 pages)
Contents 1. Sacred Art: Who Has the Power to Define Art? Art is What People Call Art -- Cultural Inferiority and Superiority Color the Economy of the -- 'Art is Sacred' -- 'Art is Authentic' -- 'Art is Superfluous and Remote' -- 'Art Goes Against the Rules and so Adds to Cognition' -- 'Artists Resemble Magicians' (A personal view) -- The Mythology of the Arts Influences the Economy of the Arts -- 2. The Denial of the Economy: Why Are Gifts to the Arts Praised, While Market Incomes Remain Suspect? -- The Arts Depend on Gifts and Trade -- The Amount of Donations and Subsidies is Exceptional -- 'Art that is Given Must not be Sold' -- 'The Market Devalues Art' -- The Arts Need the High Status of the Gift Sphere -- The Economy in the Arts Is Denied and Veiled -- A Dual Economy Requires Special Skills
3. Economic Value Versus Aesthetic Value: Is There Any Financial Reward for Quality? Aesthetic Value and Market Value Differ in Definition -- 'In the Market there is no Reward for Quality' -- Values are Shared -- There is No Such Thing as a Pure Work of Art -- Buyers Influence Market Value and Experts Aesthetic Value -- Power Differences Rest on Economic, Cultural and Social Capital -- In Mass Markets Quality and Sales Easily Diverge -- The Strife for Cultural Superiority in the Visual Arts (An -- The Power of Words Challenges the Power of Money -- The Government Transforms Cultural Power into Purchasing Power -- Donors and Governments Know Best -- Market Value and Aesthetic Value Tend to Converge in the Long Run -- 4. The Selflessly Devoted Artist: Are Artists Reward-Oriented? The Selfless Artist is Intrinsically Motivated -- Rewards Serve as Inputs -- Artists are Faced with a Survival Constraint
Autonomy is Always Relative -- Intrinsic Motivation Stems from Internalization -- Habitus and Field -- Selfless Devotion and the Pursuit of Gain Coincide -- Artists Differ in Their Reward-Orientation -- Types and Sources of Rewards Matter to Artists -- Three Examples of Orientation Towards Government Rewards in the Netherlands -- 5. Money for the Artist: Are Artists Just Ill-Informed Gamblers? Incomes in the Arts are Exceptionally High -- Art Markets are Winner-Takes-All Markets -- People Prefer Authenticity and are Willing to Pay for It -- Incomes in the Arts are Exceptionally Low -- Five Explanations for the Low Incomes Earned in the Arts -- Artists are Unfit for 'Normal' Jobs -- Artists are Willing to Forsake Monetary Rewards -- Artists are Over-Confident and Inclined to Take Risks -- Artists are Ill-Informed
6. Structural Poverty: Do Subsidies and Donations Increase Poverty? Artists Have Not Always Been Poor -- The Desire to Relieve Poverty in the Arts Led to the Emergence of Large-Scale Subsidization -- Low Incomes are Inherent to the Arts -- The Number of Artists Adjusts to Subsidy Levels -- Subsidies in the Netherlands Have Increased the Number of Artists Without Reducing Poverty -- Subsidies Are a Signal that Governments Take Care of Artists -- Subsidies and Donations Intended to Alleviate Poverty Actually -- Low-priced Education Signals that it is Safe to Become an -- Social Benefits Signal that it is Safe to Become an Artist -- Artists Supplement Incomes with Family Wealth and Second Jobs -- Artists Reduce Risks by Multiple Jobholding -- Artists Could be Consumers rather than Producers -- Is there an Artist 'Oversupply' or are Low Incomes Compensated
7. The Cost Disease: Do Rising Costs in the Arts Make Subsidization. 'Artistic Quality Should Remain the Aspiration, Regardless of the Costs' -- 'The Arts are Stricken by a Cost Disease' -- Technical Progress has Always been a Part of the Arts -- There is no True Performance -- The Taboo on Technical Innovation in Classical Music is a Product of the Times -- The Cost Disease Contributes to Low Incomes while Internal Subsidization Contains the Cost Disease -- There is no Limit to the Demand for Works of Art -- Changing Tastes Can Also Cause Financial Problems -- Pop Music has Attractive Qualities that Classical Music Lacks -- Subsidies and Donations Exacerbate the Cost Disease -- 8. The Power and the Duty to Give: Why Give to the Arts? Donors Receive Respect -- Donors Have Influence and are Necessarily Paternalistic -- Art Sublimates Power and Legitimizes the Donor's Activities
Gifts Turn into Duties -- Donations and Subsidies are Embedded in Rituals -- Artists Give and Pay Tribute -- Family and Friends Subsidize Artists -- Private Donors Give to Street Artists as well as to Prestigious Art Institutions -- Corporations and Private Foundations Support Art -- 9. The Government Serves Art: Do Art Subsidies Serve the Public Interest. Art Subsidies Need Reasons -- 'Art Subsidies are Necessary to Offset Market Failures' -- 'Art has Special Merits and must be Accessible to Everyone' -- The Merit Argument has been Used Successfully -- 'Government Must Help Poor Artists' -- 'Art is Public and the Government Must Intervene to Prevent Underproduction' -- 'Art Contributes to Economic Welfare and so Must be Supported' -- 'Society Needs a Reserve Army of Artists and must therefore Support Art' -- Government Distorts Competition in the Arts -- Self-Interest Hides Behind Arguments for Art Subsidies -- The Art world Benefits from Subsidies -- The Government is under Pressure to Subsidize the Arts
10. Art Serves the Government: How Symbiotic Is the Relationship between Art. Governments Have Interests and Tastes -- Art Appears to be Less Serviceable than it was during Monarchical Times -- European Governments Carried on the Former Patronage -- Veiled Display Serves Social Coherence -- The Cultural Superiority of the Nation Needs Display -- Government Taste Serves Display -- Governments are Willing to Support the Arts -- An Arts Experts Regime Harmonizes Government and Art World -- Appendix: Differences between Government Involvement in the in the Arts in the US and in Europe -- 11. Informal Barriers Structure the Arts: How Free or Monopolized Are the Arts? -- In other Professions Barriers Inform Consumers, Restrain Producers and Limit Competition -- The Arts Resist a Formal Control of Numbers of Artists -- In the Past Numbers of Artists were Controlled -- Granting Certificates to Commercial Galleries in the Netherlands
Characteristics of Informal Barriers -- Informal Barriers Protect Collective Reputations -- Innovations in the Arts are Protected and Indirectly Rewarded -- The Arts are Structured and Developments are Controlled -- The Risks of Some are Reduced at the Expense of Others -- 12. Conclusion: a Cruel Economy: Why Is the Exceptional Economy of the Arts. The Economy of the Arts is an Exceptional Economy -- Despite the Many Donations and Subsidies Incomes are Low in the Arts -- A Grim Picture has been Drawn -- Winners Reproduce the Mystique of the Arts -- Society Needs a Sacred Domain -- Future Scenarios with More or Less Subsidization -- Epilogue: the Future Economy of the Arts -- Signs of a Less Exceptional Economy of the Arts -- Artists with New Attitudes Enter the Scene (1) -- Artists with new Attitudes Enter the Scene (2) -- 'Art Becomes Demystified as Society Becomes More Rational' -- 'Borders in and Around the Arts Disappear' -- 'New Techniques, Mass Consumption and Mass Media Help
Summary An unconventional socio-economic analysis of the economic position of the arts and artists
Analysis Artists
Arts
Economics
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 349-360) and indexes
Notes Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002. http://purl.oclc.org/DLF/benchrepro0212 MiAaHDL
Print version record
digitized 2010 HathiTrust Digital Library committed to preserve pda MiAaHDL
Subject Artists -- Economic conditions.
BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY -- Artists, Architects, Photographers.
Economics
Artists -- Economic conditions
Wirtschaftliche Lage
Kunstökonomie
Künstler
Kunstmarkt
Kunstenaars.
Kunst.
Economische situatie.
SUBJECT Art -- Economic aspects
Form Electronic book
ISBN 0585498148
9780585498140
9053565655
9789053565650
1280958774
9781280958779
9786610958771
6610958777
9789048503650
9048503655