the triangulation of value

8/13/2019 The Triangulation of Value

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The Triangulation of ValueNav HaqPublished 09.02.2010

Diedrich Diederichsen speaking at the Serpentine Gallery Summer Pavilion, 18 October 200 ! Photograph" #ark $lo%er

The state of 'exce tionalit!' versus ur ose for conte" orar! art insociet! has beco"e a clear and necessar! debate of late# ando ortunities to ta$e stoc$ of the situation are sought after and

scrutinised in equal "easure. The resentation last autu"n at the%er entine &aller! of t o a ers# one b! historian# riter andcurator (orothea von Hantel"ann# and the other b! cultural critic(iedrich (iederichsen as a ti"el! occasion for thought on thesub)ect and relations of art's valuation at the resent "o"ent. Theti"ing of this articular event located itself bet een the ublishingof boo$s b! each of these s ea$ers * after the influential text On&Surplus' (alue in )rt +200,- b! (iederichsen# and leading u tothe ublishing of von Hantel"ann's ne boo$ *he +ise o the

-.hibition +2009-. Their res ective a ers tied together theirthoughts on the social and econo"ic conditions of conte" orar!art# starting fro" the re"ise that art and its institutions * hilststill "aintaining the re"ise of art being an erudite s ace ofreflexive enquir! * have shifted into a "ore central# e"beddedcontext in societ!. %o here does this leave valuation# hat "eansdo e have for esti"ating or even deter"ining hat e "ean b!'value'# and# finall!# ho is value for

Value is certainl! a contested notion. The "ulti licit! in theunderstanding of value has left art straddling artistic# social#

olitical and econo"ic real"s si"ultaneousl!. /ll of these differentarenas# "oreover# see$ to affir" the veracit! of their o nideologies fro" ho the! deter"ine 'value'. The oints ofdivergence in the dialogue bet een von Hantel"ann's and

(iederichsen's res ective anal!ses# hich "ade this articular


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event a useful and rovocative discussion# as not onl! around hoart acquires its value toda!# but also ho art's relations to ne

audiences across the social s ectru" have led to the traditional'qualitative'# or artistic# valuation being ecli sed b! other for"sex orted +fro" the vie oint of the artistic do"ain- fro" thisdiversit! of s heres.

Von Hantel"ann's thesis on the 'u grading' of the visual arts inter"s of societal relevance charts a linear histor! of "useu"screating the conditions for art to be a co""unicative tool. n her

a er# she clai"s that it is the dis la! "ode of art * that is# theexhibition * as a s ecific ex eriential for"at that has enabled art torise in status# rather than the s ecific content of art or$s or artists'

biogra hies. Her thesis is rooted in the idea that the act ofdis la!ing an art ob)ect constitutes a de"ocratic offer of sub)ectiveex erience. The exhibition for"at# von Hantel"ann argues# has' erfor"ed' itself into this central role# and is considered sosuccessful that it continues to be ex orted globall! ith the

e"ergence of ne biennials and "useu"s. Her research alsoresonates ith the recent tendenc! for +re-considering the histor!of art through the histor! of exhibitions# ith# for exa" le# therecent boo$ Salon to $iennial +200,- ublished b! Phaidon.Ho ever# her focus re"ains "ore on the relationshi of theexhibition for"at to audience# rather than on historicall!

ioneering curatorial ractices in the"selves. Von Hantel"ann isstill researching the sub)ect# and h! she alights s ecificall! on the

e.hibition as the ritual for"at that has led art to its currentredica"ent# and not the "useu" or galler! or unsthalle that

houses it# is not i""ediatel! a arent.

(iederichsen's a er as based heavil! on his recent On &Surplus'(alue essa!# discussing the arxist notion of mehr%ert in relationto art * a ter" difficult to translate coherentl! into 3nglish# but

hich a roxi"ates as either sur lus value# added value or the

' a!*off'. He uses the ter" to describe art as a heno"enon thate"bodies the conditions of advanced ca italis" b! being highl!


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s eculative in ter"s of econo"ic value * o erating entirel! in hathe calls the 'bonus real"'# or ith a belief in things consistentl!

adding u to considerabl! "ore than the su" of their arts# andthen so"e. /rt# he argues# finds itself in a c!cle of roduction

here it "ust continuousl! generate sur lus value. (iederichsenas$s hether the art s here ould colla se ithout this drive forsur lus value# and# at the sa"e ti"e# about the ris$s of the arts!ste" beco"ing too heavil! reliant on one articular real" of

value * such as the co""ercial or social * to the detri"ent ofothers.

Von Hantel"ann and (iederichsen both onl! artiall!ac$no ledge the econo"ic and social understandings of value.Though this is understandable ithin the ara"eters of theirres ective argu"ents# e "ight loo$ to these as useful foundationsfor dra ing out further a "ore detailed re resentation. Theevolution of the "ar$et lace# for exa" le# has created a s ace

here the valuation of art enters a real" even "ore delirious than

hat e can i"agine. 4e"e"ber the tal$ of 'art is li$e gold' )ust asthe econo"! as crashing# hinting at the "ar$et's consideration ofart or$s as a $ind of value store * or the regular s$ir"ishes

bet een the ri"ar! and secondar! art "ar$ets.

Thin$ing about s ecific inter retations of value that are rivilegedover others is articularl! useful for the resent ti"e# es eciall! forthose artists# curators or theorists ho have traditionall!concentrated on the artistic or qualitative understanding of art. The

icture that it uts in "! "ind is that of an 'energ! triangle'# li$ethe $ind used in che"istr! to describe ho fire burns. Here e "a!re lace 'fuel'# '562' and 'heat' ith 'econo"ic'# 'social' and 'artistic'for the three essential require"ents. 5onvenientl! for the ur osesof this text# von Hantel"ann rovides a sna shot of the social# and(iederichsen an i"age of the econo"ic. This triangulation of valuere resents a condition here all three sides are no "utuall!

reliant on each other# though this does not necessaril! "ean thatthe! understand each other# or# fro" their o n ers ectives# that


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the! realise hat the! have in co""on.

7! focusing fir"l! on the social and econo"ic conditions of art andsidelining its artistic sti ulation +highlighted b! ho little the!discuss an! actual art or$s or exhibitions-# both von Hantel"annand (iederichsen end u closel! equating value ith de"and. 7othof these real"s celebrate de"and as a for" of liberation inca italist de"ocrac!# su eri" osing it over the idea of 'freedo" ofex ression' * or even ortra!ing it as a ne for" of creativit!. %ucha construal of de"and ositions individuals# and their ursuit of

individualis"# at the core of 'su l! and de"and'# for"ing as!ste" of value that relies on consu" tion and circulation# and

hich needs to be constantl! erfor"ed in order to sustain itself. /rt's correlation to the de"ands of and for individualis" is centralto their res ective theses on generating value# and is one of the"ore ertinent oints one could dra fro" the t o ut in arallel.8or von Hantel"ann# the social construction of the art or$

erfor"ativel! invo$es the individual as both the or$'s i" lied

"a$er and its i" lied vie er. The individual is li$e ise central tothe "useu"'s ro)ect# hich facilitates the social construction ofthe art or$# and is si"ultaneousl! cultivated b! the co""odit!"ar$et. n contrast# (iederichsen discusses the valorisation of theindividual artist as central to the co""ercial otential of art# hichis in turn cultivated b! a ider ublic interest. These ers ectivesare not necessaril! in o osition to each other# if !ou believe thatthe relations involved can be reci rocal. ndeed# both readings

cruciall! ac$no ledge the role of individualis" in this triangulationof value# in hich it acts as the lubricant of its "echanis"s ofcirculation.

t feels i" ortant# though# to be conscious that understanding the valuation of art as art of a causal relation of su l! and de"andcan end u confor"ing to the neo*liberal sanctioning of culture * in

hich art is sociall! 'useful' and econo"icall! roductive +its

discussions far re"oved fro" art's historical idea of autono"!-.'/rt for art's sa$e' see"s intensel! redundant in estern ca italist


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de"ocracies right no . The tric$ling do n of ideolog! ta$ing lacein the neo*liberal cultural olic! "odel# in 3uro e articularl!# in

resu osing these ideas of ur ose and value for art in the socialand econo"ic real"s# has had a tangible effect at the level of

ractice for both artists and institutions. / broader icture ingeneral is required of the consideration of art ithin the a aratusof the olitical econo"! as a art of this rocess of "a ing valuetoda!.

f art is required to continue )uggling so "an! real"s of value * andso"e ould disagree that it should * then it need to at least get agri on ho the! are all constituted. Von Hantel"ann's call for artto reflexivel! question ho it can ta$e advantage of theconsequences of its ne status# rather than beco"e a "eres!" to" of it# suggests that art needs to dra reci rocal benefitfro" those real"s that de"and value fro" it in the first lace. 7!equating value ith social and econo"ic de"and hilst sideliningthe qualitative valuation of art# this triangulation bet een thesocial# the econo"ic and the 'artistic' could beco"e too irregular.There is the ris$ that the field of art ill be left ith onl! there"nants of its for"er exce tionalit!. That sounds dra"atic# but atleast art is thus far seen as so"ething that can "a$e itself erfor"in relation to a given situation# albeit in the "ode of an i" roviseddance.

the triangulation of value

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