ABSTRACT
The art market is traditionally associated with materiality, techniques, artisanship, and physical form, yet materialist approaches to studying artistic markets have been scarce. In order to extend the research area of arts marketing with a more materially and pragmatically oriented approach, this chapter turns to the inter-disciplinary area of constructivist market studies, which builds on actor-network theory (ANT). The chapter discusses market products of graffiti and street art – art forms that traditionally resist commodification and which are perceived as anti-commercial, ephemeral, and illegitimate. In adopting an approach focused on materiality and the studying of actions, it is possible to observe the practices through which an artwork is produced to fit economic markets, which involve human actors such as artists and buyers, as well as nonhuman actors such as spray cans and building permits. A materialistic lens on empirical fieldwork enables interesting findings and analysis of the everyday practices and the use of artistic devices, which otherwise could have been missing in the construction of new knowledge on art production in contemporary art markets.
