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Art Incorporated: The Story of Contemporary Art

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In Art Incorporated: The Story of Contemporary Art Julian Stallabrass unpacks the "peculiar economy" that is the international contemporary art world using the premise that "free" art and free trade form a dominant global system. This book is an indictment of contemporary art as an unavoidable participant in a deadening and homogenizing neoliberal economy. The strength of Art Incorporated is Stallabrass' use of historical examples to tie social and theoretical changes to specific events within the art world occurring between 1989 and the first years of the 21st century.
First, Stallabrass attacks the notion of a `zone of freedom' within which art is produced and sold by demonstrating the links between the economy of art and that of finance capital. He reveals the strangeness of the perpetuation of the mantra of the unknowability of art and asserts that it is `pure propaganda'. The rise of the multicultural show coincides with the end of the cold war and the rise of `unrestrained' capitalism.
In the second chapter of the book, Stallabrass discusses the growing phenomenon of the international art biennial. This compilation of information on biennales around the world, the impetus behind their creation and the analyses of work displayed, effectively caution the reader against an uncritical adherence to "cultural mixing and hybridity". Stallabrass is highly critical of conglomerates of art, especially installation and site-specific work, as mobilized for "regional or urban development". He aptly calls biennale curators "nomadic specialists" who perpetuate a false notion of diversity within the globalized art world. The author's intension here is expose biennales as often highly problematic shams, unworthy of the social and political caché typically ceded to them.
Next, Stallabrass takes on the issue of art's complicated relationship with commodity culture. In particular, he situates art production in relation to postmodern theory in the 1990s, technological changes of the decade such as the digitization of data and the increased power of branding. This topic leads nicely into a chapter on the uses and prices of art in which Stallabrass details the ebbs and flows of the international art market. His discussion of the corporate sponsorship of museums and other art exhibitions is especially good at conveying the difficult positions of many art institutions.
In the next to last chapter, Stallabrass writes "the rules of art now" by tracing the development of theory integrated well with examples of specific artists. He also compares and critiques the different routes U.S. art writers Arthur Danto, Thomas McEvilley, and Dave Hickey all take to concluding that the contemporary art world is "almost alright". Stallabrass ends his book with a summation of the contradictions in contemporary art.
The value of this book definitely lies in its usefulness as a primer and as a resource for understanding the theoretical and economic filtering mechanisms of the art world system. It is an impressive characterization of a period of contemporary art in the neoliberal terms of economic inequality, the politics of deregulation and privatization and the culture of unrestrained consumerism. Art Incorporated, while offering a bleak image of the international art world, also provides a vital template for the critical evaluation its future developments.

Julian Stallabrass tries to capture the art world from the advent of neoliberalism in the 1940's. Moving internationally, the art world is forced to embrace consumerist culture. Culture wars between the political right and the left, the merging of fine art and mass produced materials (that of kitsch), and the beginning of art forms such as installation art has all had profound effects on the movement of the art market.

Stallabrass approaches these issues very broadly and expects his audience to view it as an overview of topics to research more closely. Stallabrass jumps right in to relating artists to the art world but does not provide any foundation for what neoliberalism is in context to the globalized art market. I suggest to do some research first on that term. In short however, neoliberalism pertains to the privatization of the art market i.e .: the corporations. This foundation is free in some respects but the consumer and the artist always need to be thinking about who is funding them and therefore, censoring themselves. Stallabrass talks about privatization in length and stresses it's dismal effects in the art world.

One topic that worldwide privatization has affected is biennials. Reaching out to struggling countries runs the risk of being ill received such as in South Africa (38). Overall, the outreach into other countries pushes western ideals instead of embracing the culture of the land. This may just mean that these countries are not ready for an elitist cultural arena. The interesting aspect of this dialogue, however, was the idea that artists in struggling countries are dealing with issues that can jump through history. The extreme social differences in terms of wealth might very well produce some of the most interesting work. Instead of dealing with petty ironies and pure aesthetic conditions, the artist in a struggling country might have more to say.

Another effect of privatization was brought up describing Tracey Emin's work in chapter 4: uses and prices of art. Stallabrass compares her work to that of a robot that spits out predictable work.

"Such artists as brands are again allegorical figures that, like robots, deliver particular and predictable behavior along with other outputs (145)." Corporate sponsorship of exhibitions is a danger because it leads to less radical thought and content. If museums create themselves with restrictions including branding themselves in color, text, and style, the likelihood of the exhibitions to be extremely dry is much greater. Stallabrass also mentions Damien Hirst 'Absolut Hirst' add that backs up his claim that advertising and corporations might filter too much of the "art" out of the art (133).

Stallabrass's observations are sarcastic and quite apocalyptic. Free expression is a luxury from the past. It is impossible now to make artwork that is free from the burden of the art world. One can take talking points and further research from Stallabrass and choose whether or not to leave the doomsday feeling behind.

Julian Stallabrass's Art Incorporated: The story of Contemporary Art is audacious beginning with it's own subtitle. THE Story of Contemporary Art... and what a story it is. Leaping directly into the fire, Stallabrass ties the seemingly opposed forces of neo-liberal economics to the "Zone of Freedom" we assume the art world to be. Using the Jonathan Richman lyrics, "We gotta rock at the government center to make the secretaries feel better when they put the stamps on the letter..." to break the ice, Stallabrass argues that despite its revolutionary and humanist ideals art, like rock and roll, has been relegated to a commodity.

He asserts this through various lenses. Among them are analysis of international biennales and the effects of consumer culture on the arts.
Stallabrass contrasts the stated ambitions of international Biennales against their actual implementation. He runs through examples of curators boldly acknowledging that the biennales have been tailored to tourists specifically, exhibitions extolling "a glimpse of transnational utopia," yet excluding local artists in favor of established blue-chip art stars, and exhibitions where video and new media works cease to be maintained or projected after the global visitors fly home. This overwhelming set of observations leaves our "Zone of Freedom" in shambles. We are left with an art world in a new role internationally, "it's core function [is] as a propagandist of neoliberal values." (p.72)

He moves to addressing how consumer culture has affected art, particularly through artists' use of appropriating the presentational gestures of products and commodities. Warhol's Brillo boxes are an explicit example of this, but artists such as Takashi Murakami, Vanessa Beecroft and Sylvie Fleury have continued this trend. He observes, "Postmodern theory itself, as it moved from being an account of potential utopia or dystopia to being a flat description on an existing reality, lost its critical and ethical force." (p.78) Stallabrass points out the tenuous position artists operate from when choosing this tactic, "Such work is modest and weak if taken as critique, strong and strident if taken as celebration since after all... what is glossily and cannily produced is another set of commodities." (P.89)

Stallabrass concludes with a list of contradictions and artists who employ various strategies to undermine and assault the commodification of art. His examples are cursory, and a vast text could be dedicated to this subject. But his conclusion needs not be complete; it serves as an appendix to the books primary offering, awareness. Awareness of a system that would prefer our collective ignorance.

Being a young ambitious artist, I read Art Incorporated once and developed a hatred for Julian Stallabrass. He paints a grim view of the contemporary art world-- to the point that I became ashamed to be labeled an "artist."

Then I read the book again and realized that perhaps it is not Stallasbrass that I hate, but the portrait that he paints of todays international art economy. Appropriately reading Art Incorporated today (in 2008), where our economy is in great hardship, I had a revelation. Not only does he remind me that unpredictability of mass culture, politics and the economy change do to money (or the lack their of), but the art world changes with the times as well.

Art Incorporated, by Julian Stallabrass gives an in depth history of the art world from the past 20 years. He takes you on a global journey, describing art and showing examples everywhere from Asia to Africa to Latin America and beyond. He attempts to answer how the economy has formed our (artists and observers) view of what "art" is and what "art" is used for.

Stallabrass begins the book by telling the audience that artists live in a "zone of freedom." He talks about the cultural lines which artists can cross, simply by creating art, and how the "wealthy" buy this work to "inhale the scent of freedom." His approach to beginning the book with such strong viewpoints is powerful and believe me, filled me with great emotion!

Alongside his discussion of "freedom" he introduces examples of work that is extreme and shocking, which is always fun to look at (expectantly if you are not familiar with these works).

He goes on to discuss how the Cold War changed the art world enormously. During this time, instead of artists creating works for shock value, and personal protest, he discusses how the government used these same artists to create propaganda in the US and abroad. His views of the post war art world is littered with pop culture and consumer ideals. He draws connections between the hardship of life and the change in the art market.

What I found the most interesting was Stallabrass's views of the ever popular biennial. The biennial, who's sole purpose is to bring international artists together and diversify locations around the world, is often a poor event for the host city. Stallabrass opened your eyes to the other side of these "wonderful cultural events" and plays devils advocate throughout.

He ends the book with ideas of how to "fix" the art market and by suggesting that artists use technology like the Internet to bombard the market with serious political art. He also goes as far as discussing the destruction of art as art (or a statement of).

I must admit, Art Incorporated was a bit difficult to digest at first but I do believe it is a book that will satisfy not only artists but activists that are interested in the strange relationship of money and "product" (aka art).

The point of Stallabrass's Art Incorporated is to highlight the inextricable connection between contemporary art and the global market. He challenges the longstanding assumption that art exists in a realm untouched by the tedium and materialism of mainstream culture. The premise of his claims is that it is a myth that artists are uninfected by the vulgar concerns of economy and enjoy unfettered expressive possibilities. This "zone of freedom" as he calls it, is just a romantic façade for a mechanism of production that is primarily motivated and governed by the ebb and flow of capital.
The cause of this phenomenon is the "neoliberal" culture that emerged after the cold war. Even if Stallabrass's final argument is contested, it has to be acknowledged that a shift toward a free, global market has had an enormous impact on economy and culture and that it will undoubtedly have had effects on the art world as well. Stallabrass attacks art world insiders such as gallery owners and biennale organizers as the primary perpetuators of this phenomenon. He portrays them not as individuals but as a single, unified, money-minded entity. Despite this gross generalization, Stallabrass transcends vague, hypothetical evidence by citing several convincing instances of unsavory practices of high-profile art world beuroucrats. Included in this criticism is an identification of biennial supporters that often include major and minor corporations as in the Liverpool Biennial, or the conformity to global values as was the case in the Istanbul and Havana Biennials. Stallabrass successfully names the uneasy feeling that seems a ubiquitous accompaniment to such events: that they exist not only because of, but for art and corporate insiders of the highest rank.
Stallabrass goes as far as to say that art can be seen as simply a sub-department of larger corporate functioning. The art world caters to and supplements economy in an attempt to at least ride in the wake of the inevitable direction the global market plows its way toward. The art world is compelled to constantly compete alongside corporate interests, although through an often demented and rarefied version, with the increasingly advanced spectacle that mass culture offers. This is an easy conclusion to come to in light of the practice Stallabrass describes of artists submitting to gallery owners' demands for them to reconstruct expressly anti-consummerist works in order to make them more sellable. Solid arguments such as these though, lose some credibility when juxtaposed with such dogmatic and extreme assertions such as--"art may be imagined as consumerism's dreaming, playfully recombining the elements of mass culture in promiscuous assemblages, and along the way happening upon items of use."
Art Incorporated on the whole cannot be dismissed as cynical bad-mouthing but is an unhappy yet fairly accurate depiction of art world politics. It is true that Stallabrass can turn off readers by his broad generalizations, such as attributing a single characterization to an entire decade of artwork, but this is ultimately forgivable when considered as a necessity for the sake of argument. Art Incorporated is an essential text for anyone involved in the fine arts, if only as a point to be deliberated upon and measured against one's own experience of and participation in the art world.

Art Incorporated, by Julian Stallabrass, is a critique of the very intertwined relationship that contemporary art has with mass culture and neolibralism, and how together they have perpetuated and directed the art market under the guise of `freedom'. Stallabrass first introduces us to the "Zone of Freedom", the idea that art operates in a world all its own, free from restriction. However, we quickly learn that this zone is an illusion, and that underneath art operates hand in hand with capitalism. Acting as the enabler, the sense of freedom needs to be present in order for "globalized art production" to succeed.

With globalization in full force, the biennial has taken charge as the main venue for celebrating artists in countries that may have not received recognition before. Stallabrass states, " The filtering of local material through the art system ultimately produces homogeneity...More specifically, it reinforces neoliberal values, especially those of the mobility of labor and the linked virtues of multiculturalism" (42). It acts as a smokescreen for displaying just enough `otherness' to attract the visitor (who is almost always not a local), while making them feel comfortable enough to purchase something. The biennial puts a strain on the local / global relationship in its attempt to highlight saleable items.

Moving on to the next chapter, Consuming Culture, Stallabrass suggests that, "the cultural expression (of neolibralism) is surely unrestrained consumerism" (73). He speaks about the undefined line between art and consumer culture and how they are mingling more and more as we become not just consumers of commodities, but consumers of lifestyle and ideals. Art contributes to this process by referencing culture, and vice versa. They are intrinsically linked.

Continuing in this vein, we are presented with the uses of art in `hybrid' items, such as handbags and vodka ads that not only act as promotional tools for corporations, but also add to the corporation's image, conveying what they want to be seen as to the public. This `outreach' by corporations to the arts extends further than that - to funding public awareness campaigns and donating funds to museums. All which then, in turn, promote their donors. "This conspicuous consumption simultaneously validates artist, museum, and sponsor...."(136).

After all of this, Stallabrass does suggest that perhaps, for a moment, we may be able to just appreciate and enjoy art for what it is and stop thinking about it. But, we must remember that the moment we do this, we sink into uniformity. There is no real way to experience the art without participating in the market that has made the work possible.

Stallabrass presents us with a very realistic, albeit pessimistic, view of the art market. I don't think he has forecast the demise of art; he leaves it open, perhaps to give the reader hope. I feel that having read this book I can approach artwork with a more informed view of the `workings' behind the art, and maybe that's the best situation we can ask for. Stallabrass offers us what I believe is an excellent starting point for more in-depth research.

Julian Stallabrass's Art Incorporated: The Story of Contemporary Art offers a cynical but exceedingly true insight into the realm of art as commodity. Unlike the utopian ideal many have regarding art as an autonomous aspect of cultural production unmarred by politics and the economy, Stallabrass illuminates a far more unfavorable reality.

He emphasizes the role of the neo-liberal economy, developed after the second World War, in framing and changing art production post 1945. He goes on to call the changed economy the "new world order" in which countries that were previously isolated began to trade with the world economy and make considerably more money. Free trade in a free economy, which Stallbrass refers to as a "zone of freedom" was a huge transition for countries like Cuba, China, and Japan, and the process of dealing with this drastic transition can be noticed in pieces produced during this time (6). As the world market quickly began to get smaller and smaller as trade and interaction began to occur almost instantaneously with the development of technology, particularly the Internet, the art market slowly began to homogenize. Originality soon seemed impossible to achieve.

A particularly compelling aspect is Stallbrass's commentary on "the art world." It is impossible to deny that there is some sort of inevitable "change" that occurs when an artist brings his or her work into the public eye. It is no longer safe in the studio; it has just entered the unavoidable "art world" and is subject to the scrutiny of all eyes that view it. Stallabrass quotes Xu Bing, a Chinese artist, as saying "Handing one's work to society is like driving animals into a slaughterhouse. The work no longer belongs to me: it has become the property of all the people who have touched it. It is now concrete and filthy" (66). Though the slaughterhouse metaphor is quite dramatic, this quote illuminates the struggles artists face when introducing their pieces to the art world.

Stallabrass points to the fact that, in general, the people of today's world are major consumers. We do not just go to Starbucks daily and spend $200 every trip to the mall, we also consume culture. This phrase, when looked at closely, is rather frightening. Culture, like art, is something that should remain untouched and autonomous from the corruption of the outside world. This is not the case, however, and art objects and cultural objects are currently being bought, sold, and traded like stocks and bonds. They are not just considered status symbols for the culturally elite or sophisticated academics, these art pieces are hard cash - investments. With money, of course, comes corruption. As Stallabrass states, "both making and selling are unusually controlled in the art market" (101). This concept appears to limit the freedom of the artist, having to please patrons and knowing ahead of time just how much his or her piece will most likely be sold for.

In the final chapter "Contradictions," Stallabrass states that "art overruns the borders of local particularity, aiding the transformation and mixing the world's cultures and economies" (186). He suggests this after discussing the role that art has played in creating social interaction by engaging viewers in anti-capitalist ventures to re-evaluate society. Therefore, the homogeneity of the art world is not always a negative trait; it can aid in spanning cultural and economic barriers to convey the "bigger picture" to a broader audience. As the title of the chapter so blatantly reveals, there are an overwhelming number of contradictions in contemporary art, including the concept of the word "contemporary." As Paul Virilio so cleverly states, "contemporary with what?" (176).

What is in store for the future of the art world? This is unclear, and Stallbrass never really states a solution to this problem. Instead, it appears as if he thinks that it is essential to be aware of the current situation. It would be ignorant for artists and art historians to continue to produce and analyze art without taking into account the fact that art has become a form of capital. All is not lost, though, and he is not going as far as to say that art production is futile and art historians serve no purpose, instead he uses his cynicism as a way to emphasize the reality of the situation at hand.

In Art Incorporated, Julian Stallabrass presents readers with a cogent introduction to a narrative of contemporary art integrating the development of a global market, commodity culture, and postmodernism. Stallabrass phrases the core concerns of his analysis as "the regulation and incorporation of art in the new world order" (28). This "new world order" is post-cold war globalization of neoliberal values wherein art is commodified, homogenized, and commercialized.

I found that my initial reluctance to engage with the topic of Art Incorporated speaks to the pervasiveness of what Stallabrass suggests is an ideology of freedom which is perpetuated by contemporary art itself. Stallabrass says "to banish such crude considerations from the minds of its viewers, contemporary art must continually display the signs of its freedom and distinction from the mass, by marking off its productions from those vulgarized by mass production and mass appeal" (5).
Stallabrass notes that this "zone of freedom" works symbiotically with capitalism--positing free trade and free art to be a "system and its supplement" (6).

I hoped that, in this early part of the text, Stallabrass would encourage the idealists in his audience with some redeeming aspect of this `new world order.' And in the next chapter, Stallabrass does note the positive aims of biennials, the ideal of virtuous cultural mixing and enhancement of local artistic institutions. However, this moment is fleeting and the chapter focuses on the more glaring issues of global homogenization and the tensions surrounding biennials. Stallabrass highlights these circumstances where biennials disembody the ideals they purport to represent, instead functioning as a system through which local art is filtered, where "critical content is overlooked" in favor of that which speaks to international concerns and reinforces neoliberal values.

Stallabrass furthers his notion of art feeding a neoliberal economy in the chapter "Consuming Culture." He discusses the rise of cultural consumerism--as much about the immaterial (like brand names) as it is tangible products, and where art and business seem more alike than different. It is in this chapter that I found Stallabrass's most disheartening statement following his account of art produced without purported critical engagement: "Thus art, a material manifestation of exchange-value, approaches the condition of that most abstract of commodities, money..." (90). Here Stallabrass informs readers what becomes of art produced only for consumption.

After this especially bleak discussion of the shrinking distinction between art and commodity culture, I read the proceeding chapters hoping Stallabrass had an antidote in mind--some way to rescue art from its relegation to a position of mere capital. Even though Stallabrass explores "opportunities for the exploitation" of the contradictions in contemporary art in his final chapter, this was hardly the antidote I was looking for. In reality, an antidote was not Stallabrass's project.

Julian Stallabrass has provided his readers with a thoroughly engaged discussion of a perspective on contemporary art rarely found contemporary art discourse--an aspect of this book that renders it valuable as a starting point for future discussion as well as enrichment for current debate.

Art Incorporated: The story of contemporary art, by Julian Stallabrass, is an in depth look into the international art world and art market. I find that I have a very conflicted relationship with this book because I feel like I've learned a lot from it, yet every time I read it I understand it less than before . The first time through the book, I felt like I understood it pretty well, however, when my fellow grad comrade's began to discuss the book I noticed that there was a huge chunk of information that went way over my head. I don't necessarily think that is a bad thing being that it is a pretty complex subject, and is a lot of information to digest at such a short period of time. The goal of this book is to inform the reader of what goes on "behind the scenes" in the art world; to strip the rose color from the potential art stars glasses and simply inform them of where the investment made in art school is going to take them. "Contemporary art seems to exist in a zone of freedom, set apart from the mundane and functional character of everyday life, and from its rules and conventions. Yet this familiar scene-how old and established is art's rule-breaking, and how routine are the accompanying recommendations and condemnations-masks significant recent change" (1). This change Stallabrass is talking about is that of art becoming a commodity; a hobby that has turned into a strategic game of globalized marketing prowess. "This continued insistence on the unknowability of art is strange, particularly since it has been accompanied recently by some transparently instrumental art practices. Since we cannot know what we cannot know, this mantra about the impenetrability of the realm of art is evidently nothing but propaganda. The uses to which art is put, and the identity of those who use it, are often far from mysterious. Since the fall of Eastern European Communism and the emergence of capitalism as a truly global system, these uses have become both more advanced and more evident" (10).
The thing that I find makes this book so successful is the fact that it really get's me to ask myself why, as a practicing artist, I keep producing when there is so much at stake. In an ideal world, art would be free in every sense of the word; used as a tool for enlightenment and understanding. Stallabrass makes a wonderful point "The question of art's use takes us back to art's freedom. That the very concern of art-creativity, enlightenment, criticality, self-criticism- are as instrumentally grounded as what they serve to conceal-business, state triage, and war-is the consideration that must be concealed. And it can be because the local liberation offered in the production of art, and it's enjoyment, are genuine" (199). "To break with the supplemental autonomy of free art is to remove one of the masks of free trade. Or to put it the other way around, if free trade is to be abandoned as a model for global development, so must its ally, free art" (201).
As a whole, even though the book can be pretty long winded, I found it to be extremely valuable and I think it will be an essential part of my library for years, as I will refer back to it periodically to assist in my path as an artist.

Stallabrass's Art Incorporated gives interesting insight into the art market. In the beginning he mentions the freedom of artists working in this day and age. This statement he later tares apart with examples of how the art market is regulated by neo-liberalist morals and just plain old capitalism. There is talk of art existing outside the mainstream market, while it becomes more restricted by laws governing it's sale, appreciation and value based on castrating standards established through the actions of certain curators, and events.
Stallabrass argues that art is dead in the sense of independently creative work, and instead has been regulated by the people who are paying for it. Consumerism is effecting everything that shapes our world today, and artist today are forced to deal with it in their creative practices as well as their business practice. Stallabrass describes consumerism as the new wave shaping the world. Ideas of self-identity based on what one owns, and how much one consumes defining who we are.
The writing it self is very direct, and informative making sure that you understand Stallabrass's great concern for the shifting that will occur in the art market as it continues it's current path. In a way Stallabrass is expressing his concern for what has become of art, and what will become of it. The freedoms that used to make art great are now becoming a trap to hold back new development through the actions of curators and insiders only interested in what seems marketable. It seems to me ridiculous to assume that there are claims of hopelessness of evacuation of this economic thought fueled art market, instead I find it nice that Stallabrass is willing to step up and shed light on a market that is able to avoid the rules of others.
The book also gives a lot of mention in the chapter titled New World Order on the power of globalization in art. Stallabrass brings up biennials curators, and accuses them of creating a false notion of globalization through their traveling shows that are targeted at selling popular work to wealthy individuals and corporations in an effort to increase profits. In this way the curators create a false notion of world wide togetherness, but still attract consumers to their world wide event of multicultural saturation (that isn`t quite as diverse as they would like you to think).
I found the book very enlightening on the subject of how the art market really works. And found the views of Stallabrass fresh, and honest. The future that lay out may seem bleak, but nothing is set in stone. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about the market that doesn't mind getting a little angry.