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January 02, 2007
When Mammon met the muse: branding the arts
In the FT, Christopher Guest's big brother Anthony Haden-Guest sounds a familiar gong but in a less snitty fashion than Sundance previewers may adopt in the next couple of weeks: "The Art Basel Miami Beach fair had not yet opened but the convention centre was humming. The commercial carapace that encases it, as it increasingly encases the entire art world, 
was being put in place. In the recent past, commercial sponsorships of cultural events were usually matters of what was not yet called branding. A manufacturer of cigarettes, say, or motorcars would fund an “artistic” TV programme or an opera season, hoping that customers... might even choose them over some more philistine brand... [T]he art world has become such a generator of wealth—doing... £6bn-£8bn worth of business annually—that many businesses form symbiotic relationships with the art world and with fairs in particular." Miami's Art Basel, writes Haden-Guest, is logically linked to local hotels and restaurants. "But the fair’s very success has caused problems... A walk into the Collectors Lounge at Miami Basel required a VIP pass and was a giddying experience. The central space was hung with translucent lilac drapes. Along one wall ran a bar with glowing orange panels. People were strolling around, holding catalogues and champagne flutes. A booth housed Cipriani, once best known for Harry’s Bar in Venice... A young woman offered me a Bellini and a tote bag containing a beach towel. What were they selling? A local real-estate development. Another real-estate company... was walled with photographs of their developments. “We own the Miami skyline,” a young woman told me. OK. But what were they doing at an art fair? “This is a wonderful place for us to showcase our properties."... Other spaces were occupied by Bulgari... in the final year of a 3-year sponsorship, and the mammoth art insurers, Axa. Three others were occupied by BMW, which supplied the VIP cars, by NetJets, and by the fair’s principal sponsor, the Swiss bank, UBS... The UBS lounge opened on to the Collectors Lounge at Miami Basel and was a great deal larger. It was filled with creamy light. There were glass bowls of tangerines and lemons on Lucite tables and fleshy lilies that smelled a bit like raw potatoes." [More at the link.]
Posted by Ray Pride at January 2, 2007 01:49 PM
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