The Artist in Brand Culture
MARKETING THE ARTS: A FRESH APPROACH, Daragh O’Reilly, Finola Kerrigan, eds., Routledge, 2010
20 Pages Posted: 17 Feb 2020
Date Written: May 1, 2009
Abstract
Artists produce the world's most expensive objects - paintings. Rather than apply marketing concepts to promoting art, let us instead turn to artists for insights into brands, marketing and strategy. For it is art that is based on images, value, and identity above all other sectors of the market. Who produces an artwork is the key determinant of its value. A painting by Rembrandt is worth much, much less if it is determined to be by one of his followers - yet the artwork remains the same, only the producer has changed. Artists are subject to market forces, career management issues, substitution effects, and economic cycles, just like brands. In other words, artists can be discussed within a branding perspective. This chapter turns to Andy Warhol as an illustrative example of new directions in arts marketing. An art-centered approach to marketing, branding and consumer research suggests re-framing research to acknowledge the commercial mechanisms inherent in the art market, branding's prominent place in visual culture, as well as the interactions of aesthetics and economics.
Keywords: Art, Aesthetics, Brands, Branding, Brand Management, Culture, Images, Value, Warhol
JEL Classification: L82, M30, M37, M39, Z1
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation