MARK PENNINGS
These days it is getting harder to tell the difference between Art Fairs and Biennales. Contemporary Art is now Big Business and must demonstrate a capacity to service designated niche markets. Thanks to Neo-Liberalism no government or council is going to support an art enterprise that does not offer some kind of financial pay-off. This usually translates into raising the profile of the host city as an international brand and guaranteeing a boost in tourist numbers. It is also an indirect kind of commercial transaction. The punter gets into the galleries for free and is not expected to buy the art in the show. However, there are showroom style settings of the latest ‘product’, and every artist’s label advertises the name of his or her dealer. The usual catalogues and associated paraphernalia are also for sale. In Sydney, after visiting the galleries (which form part of the tourist experience), you can shop at the Rocks, catch ferries, or visit any number of popular locations around the city.
In the global experience economy one does not necessarily visit an art gallery to buy a product, but one does enter into an ‘experience’. It is this intangible aspect of human existence that is so valuable today, and curatorially-driven art is up there competing with Dreamworld to offer the maximum in spectacle and entertainment value. In many ways these are the dominant ‘zones of contact’ in today’s global culture. The crowd gets to be entertained and the artist gets a foot in the door of the biennale gravy train. The problem is that a lot of the art fails the test of critical scrutiny because it is shallow and empty. The test in... The rest of this article is available to subscribers of Eyeline