Selling Artists Moving Image Seminar. Lux

Selling Artists Moving Image Seminar. Lux, London. 11th July 2011.

lux.org.uk/news/selling-artists-moving-image-seminar

An artists’ seminar exploring the history and practice of selling of artists’ moving image works. 

Erika Balsom will present her recent research findings into the history of artists’ moving image sales followed by a discussion with Stuart Comer and Benjamin Cook. 

Since the 1930s, there have been a series of attempts to sell film and, later, video as art objects, but it was not until the 1990s that this practice achieved real market viability. Through an examination of this history, this presentation will speculate as to why the limited edition model finally succeeded in the 1990s and what implications this development has for the production, distribution, and acquisition of contemporary moving image art.

This seminar is part of Professional Practice, an ongoing series of events and courses looking at practical issues facing artists working with the moving image.

Erika Balsom is an assistant professor of film studies at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. She is currently finishing work on a book entitled Exhibiting Cinema in Contemporary Art.

Stuart Comer is Curator of Film at Tate Modern, London 

Benjamin Cook is Director of LUX, London

Went to this very interesting seminar. Lux is really at the forefront of what is happening in artists moving image, an interface between individual artists and institutions. All involved said it was the first such event they have attended, or indeed heard of, on such a subject. Although there is a history of moving image over some decades now, it is still a history being written and collated. This lack of solid legacy is disadvantageous for current moving image artists in that it is legacy which is the perceived currency of museums and galleries, and yet advantageous as practice can now be created in innovate models.

There were no notes or follow ups-online, despite requests, so I could not quite catch names mentioned, references, spelling, etc.

The history of selling artists moving image/video and distributing it have really been a series of glorious failures. Time and again we heard of schemes set up in the '60s '70s '80s which fizzled out, sold a dozen pieces, or none. It's almost funny. There has been an alternative, almost bartering system amongst artists co-ops, etc, which have evolved into commercial systems, again, with limited success and unsustainable practice. Since the '90s there have been more successful and sustainable models which had benefited to some extent from the experience of previous failures, and from the longevity of moving image which by then had amassed some credibility and history with art institutions.

So the history of selling/distibuting moving image is not the same history as that of other contemporary art - even ephemeral performance or installation arts. It has strangely suffered a backwards perception and questioning of whether it is art at all. This debate used to centre around photography. currently it has moved on somewhat to contemporary work and concerns of artists who work in computer or internet arts.

10th August 2011