ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on art institutions employing a market/customer-centered view versus an aesthetic or art historic view of the art they handle. There is a glaring contrast between the romantic view of artistic passion versus the market view of fine art as commodity or investment. I also consider how technology is changing these institutional practices. The romantic ideal of art for art’s sake has always been something of a myth, and there are a number of prominent examples of commodification of art that call into question whether any non-monetary or aesthetic considerations remain. Besides art producers and consumers, art worlds involve artists, agents, galleries, art critics, art historians, auction houses, agents, shows, publications, and museums. These institutions cater to art collectors, art investors, and patrons. A small, but increasing, subset of these influences and interactions now take place online. High-end (read: expensive) art is also increasingly global. The interpenetration of art and the market first became glaringly evident with the rise of Pop Art in the 1950s to1970s which took much of its subject matter from consumer culture. The chapter traces changing art worlds from Pop Art to the contemporary artists who continue to mine consumer culture.
