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How Do You Sell a Work of Art Built into the Earth?

12 points by Thevet 10y ago

binarymax 10y ago
An interesting introduction but the article unfortunately falls short without really answering its title question. IMO it could have continued to discussing the same dilemma faced by most conceptual art. Also surprising there is not a single mention of the contemporary Andy Goldsworthy [0], who has done a great deal to promote environmental art. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Goldsworthy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Goldsworthy
- theoh 10y ago
  Is there really an interesting question here, though? The art world has for years had no difficulty trading in immaterial works of art, or, for example the right to exhibit a performance. In the case of something simple that anyone could reproduce, like a very simple performed gesture, what actually gets sold is the right to assert that a given performance is actually an authentic, canonical instance of the work. I've never encountered any interesting nuances or complexity when it comes to the sale of conceptual work. It is just very straightforward.
rwmj 10y ago
In the superficially similar cases of many Banksy works across London, the answer is you chisel out entire sections of buildings and sell them to private collectors. eg: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7188387.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7188387.stm http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-37148473 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-3714847... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-23461396 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-23461396 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-30242249 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-30242249
- 6stringmerc 10y ago
  ...wondered if Banksy would get a mention. Also of note is the occasional "Oops it got painted over / destroyed" ending to his art which nature can also replicate. Might take eons, but the planet doesn't run on my clock.
Neliquat 10y ago
Annoyed that they never directly addressed the answer. But it seems obvious that it is by sale of the land, or rights/access to it. As anyone would agree Architecture is art, this question has long been settled. Essentially clickbait for an article interesting enough not to need it.
gregmac 10y ago
An additional article [0] showing some of the work [1] made me smile thinking about some future civilization finding these and trying to figure out why we built them or what they were used for. [0] https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/17/arts/design/michael-heizers-big-work-and-long-view.html?_r=0 https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/17/arts/design/michael-heize... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_art https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_art
JoeDaDude 10y ago
Those interested in this sort of thing may enjoy the film series on sculpture, "The Sculpture Diaries" by Waldemar Januszczak, in particular, the 3rd film on Land Art. I was unable to locate a streaming source for the film, but trailers are still available [1], [2]. [1] http://www.films.com/ecTitleDetail.aspx?TitleID=31163 http://www.films.com/ecTitleDetail.aspx?TitleID=31163 [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCMXKANoBgA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCMXKANoBgA

12 points by Thevet 10y ago

An interesting introduction but the article unfortunately falls short without really answering its title question. IMO it could have continued to discussing the same dilemma faced by most conceptual art. Also surprising there is not a single mention of the contemporary Andy Goldsworthy [0], who has done a great deal to promote environmental art. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Goldsworthy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Goldsworthy

theoh 10y ago
Is there really an interesting question here, though? The art world has for years had no difficulty trading in immaterial works of art, or, for example the right to exhibit a performance. In the case of something simple that anyone could reproduce, like a very simple performed gesture, what actually gets sold is the right to assert that a given performance is actually an authentic, canonical instance of the work. I've never encountered any interesting nuances or complexity when it comes to the sale of conceptual work. It is just very straightforward.

rwmj 10y ago

In the superficially similar cases of many Banksy works across London, the answer is you chisel out entire sections of buildings and sell them to private collectors. eg: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7188387.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7188387.stm http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-37148473 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-3714847... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-23461396 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-23461396 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-30242249 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-30242249

6stringmerc 10y ago
...wondered if Banksy would get a mention. Also of note is the occasional "Oops it got painted over / destroyed" ending to his art which nature can also replicate. Might take eons, but the planet doesn't run on my clock.

Neliquat 10y ago

Annoyed that they never directly addressed the answer. But it seems obvious that it is by sale of the land, or rights/access to it. As anyone would agree Architecture is art, this question has long been settled. Essentially clickbait for an article interesting enough not to need it.

gregmac 10y ago

An additional article [0] showing some of the work [1] made me smile thinking about some future civilization finding these and trying to figure out why we built them or what they were used for. [0] https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/17/arts/design/michael-heizers-big-work-and-long-view.html?_r=0 https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/17/arts/design/michael-heize... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_art https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_art

JoeDaDude 10y ago

Those interested in this sort of thing may enjoy the film series on sculpture, "The Sculpture Diaries" by Waldemar Januszczak, in particular, the 3rd film on Land Art. I was unable to locate a streaming source for the film, but trailers are still available [1], [2]. [1] http://www.films.com/ecTitleDetail.aspx?TitleID=31163 http://www.films.com/ecTitleDetail.aspx?TitleID=31163 [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCMXKANoBgA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCMXKANoBgA