Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/309329 
Year of Publication: 
2016
Citation: 
[Journal:] Finance and Society [ISSN:] 2059-5999 [Volume:] 2 [Issue:] 2 [Year:] 2016 [Pages:] 127-137
Publisher: 
University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh
Abstract: 
This essay identifies two approaches to theorizing the relationship between financialization and contemporary art. The first departs from an analysis of how market logics in non-financial spheres are being transformed to facilitate financial circulation; the other considers valuation practices in financial markets (and those related to derivative instruments in particular) from a socio-cultural perspective. According to the first approach, the contemporary art market is in theory a hostile environment for financialization, although new practices are emerging that are increasing its integration with the financial sphere. The second approach identifies socio- cultural similarities between the logics by which value is extracted, amplified, and distributed through derivative instruments and contemporary art. The two approaches present a discrepancy: on the one hand, contemporary art functions as an impediment to outright financialization because of market opacity; on the other, contemporary art represents a socio- cultural analog to derivative instruments. The essay concludes by setting out the terms for a more holistic understanding of contemporary art's relationship to financialization, which would enable an integration of its economic and socio-cultural dimensions.
Subjects: 
Art market
contemporary art
derivatives
financialization
opacity
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by-nc-nd Logo
Document Type: 
Article

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