Artists are often viewed as being merely at the whim of the market in which they work. This assumption, however, is not entirely true. In fact, artists have much more agency than is often supposed. Scholars have noted historic examples of artists reacting to the market in several ways, whether it be the specialization of painting specific subject matter during the Dutch Golden Age in order to maximize efficiency and profits, the changes in style and topics John Everett Millais incorporated into his work so that he could attract a wider client base, or as shown in the work of Sophie Cras in The Artist as Economist, how artists of the 1960s used economic mechanisms themselves in the creation of art. There is indeed a long and rich history of artists adapting to the market that surrounds them.
However, there remains room for further research and a greater understanding in regards to how artists interact with the market. This session, How Artists Interact with the Market, is an opportunity to examine the historic and contemporary relationship between artists and economics. Submissions are welcome from scholars of any time period and geographical location who are interested in exploring questions concerning artistic creativity and market forces. The expectation for this analysis is to gain an increased understanding of the market generally, as well as how artists play a role in said markets, specifically.
The session will be one-hour long and feature two, fifteen-minute presentations and will take place during TIAMSA’s business meeting at the 112th CAA Annual Conference. You do not need to be a member of CAA or register for the conference in order to present or follow this session. Likewise, this event will be live-streamed and recorded.
Anyone interested in contributing to the panel should submit an abstract of, at most, 250 words and a CV of 1-2 pages by August 30th. Additionally, please provide the title of your proposed presentation in the subject line. Potential presenters will be notified if their submissions have been accepted by September 18th. Please send submission proposals and questions to joshuaeversfield.jenkins@gmail.com.
Chair: Joshua Eversfield Jenkins, PhD Candidate, Edinburgh College of Art, The University of Edinburgh.
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