Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

Can Burning Man Raise the Level of Its Art?

March 23, 2018 by Marion Maneker

The Renwick Gallery at the Smithsonian has put on a show of art works from Burning Man. It’s disappointing to read in The NYTimes that the curator of that show frames the art in opposition to commodities.

“This is an area of contemporary art that has been completely overlooked by the commercial world because it’s been so non-commodified,” said Nora Atkinson, the Renwick’s curator. […]

Ms. Atkinson, who recently attended her first Burning Man, contrasted that experience with the frenzied marketplace of Art Basel Miami, another annual fair of similar size and duration. In Miami, art is a product; an investment. At Burning Man, art is a manifestation of communal values, like inclusion and participation, that generate playful work emphasizing interaction and feeling over economics.

We’ve long advocated for taking Burning Man’s art-centered ethos seriously. In fact, one of the central issues for art in our time is the gap between the growing audience for art and the quality of public art that appears in “alternative” venues like the Grand Rapids Art Prize.

But Ms. Atkinson doesn’t seem to take either Burning Man or Art Basel seriously enough to understand that the selling a work of art doesn’t make it a commodity nor does building a rickety tower in a remote desert location makes it inclusive or communal.

Given how exclusive and privileged an event like Burning Man is, one might expect to see better works of art. After all, the attendees are drawn from some of the wealthiest occupations and regions in the world.

Will the Spirit of Burning Man Art Survive in Museums?  (The New York Times)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • American Art Sales = $76.1mAmerican Art Sales = $76.1m
  • Franz Kline at Christie’s in MayFranz Kline at Christie’s in May
  • Laura Paulson on Rauschenberg's The TowerLaura Paulson on Rauschenberg's The Tower
  • How to Behave at Art Fairs, A Dealer's PerspectiveHow to Behave at Art Fairs, A Dealer's Perspective
  • Drawing a Crowd in BerlinDrawing a Crowd in Berlin
  • Dubai v. Abu DhabiDubai v. Abu Dhabi

Filed Under: General

About Marion Maneker

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

Top Posts

  • A Season of Improvisation: Fall 2020 New York Modern and Contemporary Art Auction Analysis
  • Keith Haring’s 1989 Retrospect Comes to Sotheby’s London Prints Sale
  • Tony Podesta's Secret Art Buying
  • Four of Picasso's Women Valued at $28m Come to Christie's from Rose-Walters Collection
  • Norman Rockwell's Not Gay. But Is He a Great Artist?
  • Login
  • Roy Lichtenstein’s Top Ten Auction Prices
  • Aboudia, Zemba Luzamba, Dickens Otieno Anchor Contemporary African Art Sale at Artcurial in Marrakesh
  • Re-discovered John Constable Painting at Sotheby's in December
  • Selection Bias In Art Is What Creates Value
  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor