Prosperity of Iranian art economy, possible or forbidden (About art economy in our country)
In this article, Hamidreza Sheshjavani examines the effective components in the prosperity of Iran’s art economy. In order for the star-making system market to continue to thrive, it must in a continuous cycle introduce new stars and emerging art movements to the market and collectors. But the absence of infrastructure and institutions that are necessary for the realization of this mechanism has led to individualism in Iranian art. Apart from the successful case of Saqakhaneh, no other movement or quasi-movement has been produced, and the star-making system is focused solely on individuals who, in general, have more limited possibilities for the expansion of the market and the prosperity of the art economy. The monolithic market is currently a niche market that will have a very small share of the global art markets. The fall in the prices of prominent Iranian artists in international auctions in the second half of 2016 is also a testament to the shrinking share of the Iranian market in the face of competitors such as the Arabs in the global art market. This memo was published on December 30, 2016 in Tandis Magazine, No. 338.
From the Third Development Plan onwards, the prosperity of the art economy became one of the terms of the country’s cultural policy, but to this day it remains without a specific executive plan in the form of a slogan. What equipment, fields and conditions are needed for the Iranian art economy to prosper? What is the legal, structural, process and enforcement infrastructure? The answer to these questions depends on a correct understanding of the art world, actors and the rules that unfortunately have been beyond the patience, desire, priority and knowledge of policy makers in the cultural sector and this is one of the reasons for the delay and unplanned “prosperity of art economy” in the country. Understanding the mechanisms of the art world.
One of the global capacities of Iranian art for the prosperity of the visual arts economy is painting, and as it has happened in practice, the symbol of art economy inside and outside the country is the amount of paintings sold in Christie’s, Sotheby’s or Tehran auctions. Well, after a few auctions, domestic and foreign collectors collect the works of established artists such as Kazemi, Sepehri, Zandarroudi, Arabshahi and Ehsaei in the market, and naturally after a while, especially with the death of these artists, their number will decrease.
In order for the star-making system market to continue to thrive, it must constantly introduce new stars and emerging art movements to the market and collectors. But what is the mechanism for creating artistic movements and their popular goods? Given that the art market contributes to the success of the artist and in some respects is a measurable indicator of this success, it can be considered a kind of life cycle in the market for the art product, which coincides with the rise and fall of art movements. Angela Wetze, an art historian, writes in the book Becoming an Artist about the sequence of artistic movements fifty years leading up to the 21st century, the sequence of movements being the same for short two- or three-year movements such as hyperrealism or pattern art, or for Mandecharter movements. He considers four stages for the rise and fall of the art movement, which are not unlike the stages of marketing (introduction, growth, maturity, decline).
The first stage, which sometimes lasts up to two years: a group of artists usually gather around a central figure such as an artist, critic, or art dealer (like Zandroudi in the Saqakhaneh movement). The group restricts the display of their work to an emerging gallery and seeks to promote itself by publishing short articles in magazines.
Step 2: Some sharp critics get their attention (such as Karim Emami and the Saqakhaneh movement). Some of the exhibitors also arrange informal performances for them to show this new style to others; Usually the attention of specialized publications is attracted at this stage. At this stage, the market does not pay much attention to the works produced by this group, because the symbolic value of these works must be determined through trade and external communication. At this stage, the works of this group are “accepted” only by those who like unusual things and tend to take risks. In the art market, these people are called innovators and trend setters. People like Carl Niendorff and Solomon Guggenheim who can shape the opinions of others. After these works, the artists of the movement left the private institutions and collections and joined the mainstream markets.
Stage 3: Many artists imitate the movement, their works are auctioned off, and works that receive timely support from art dealers set a record; Books and catalogs about the works of movement artists are published; Artists are invited to participate in the most important works, from the Venice and Whitney Biennial to the Manifesta and the Five-Year Documenta. Museums also join the ranks of buyers and compete in the solo performances of the movement’s pioneers.
The fourth stage sees a decline in the trend, so that worksheets are no longer held in the main galleries. Prices are falling, especially for artists in the movement. The works are duplicated. The pioneers go to important international galleries. The avant-garde media abandon the movement and then abandon the over-the-top and less specialized magazines to introduce a newer movement. Of course, sometimes the works are revived after a certain period and a new life cycle begins.
The problem is that in the case of the Iranian art market, apart from the successful Saqakhaneh in the market (which also dates back to the 1940s), no other movement or quasi-movement has been produced and the star-making system focuses only on individuals with more limited possibilities for market expansion and economic prosperity. They have art with them. In fact, the mono-star market is currently a niche market that will have a very small share of the global art market. The fall in the prices of prominent Iranian artists in international auctions in the second half of 2016 is also a testament to the shrinking share of the Iranian market in the face of competitors such as the Arabs in the global art market. The problem is in the very first stage, “the gathering of artists around a central personality.” The way of interacting with the artistic and cultural elites at some point in our forty-year history has been such that either these personalities have preferred to emigrate or to reduce their activities to a minimum. Even at times in post-revolutionary history when the opening of cultural space was on the agenda of governments, personalities outside the country showed no interest in working at home. Of course, this pivotal character does not necessarily have to be an artist. A collector, critic or intellectual who is looking for new horizons and using the existing capacities in Iran’s cultural reserve can also play such a role. In fact, given the nature of the artists ‘labor market and the fact that, unlike other occupations, artists’ motivations are largely “immaterial” and include “recognition” among peers and “gaining fame”, the economic prosperity of the arts is not subject to macroeconomic prosperity, even in times of recession. If there is a game space, we will see a boom. This happened once in 1976 and 1978. According to economic reports, the central bank of the country’s economy was in recession in those years. The reason was the excessive fall in oil prices and the reduction of government activities and development programs and the transmission of its adverse effects in a wave to other economic sectors of the country. However, despite this recession, the economic indicators of the culture and arts sector had improved in the two years.
