What Role for Marketing in the Arts? An Analysis of Arts Consumption and Artistic Value

ness and subjectivity imply that the value of art works resides more in their content than in their form.10 This means that their value consists in their ability to reveal the sensibility of the artist, as well as his or her way of perceiving and experiencing reality: "they are used to invoke something other than themselves. For example, a sculpture may be used to convey the creators conception of beauty or love" (Hirschman, 1983, p. 50). Thus such products lend themselves to subjective interpretation by their target audience. The audience of an opera or the visitors to an exhibition give their own meanings to the work they are witnessing, based on the emotions it sparks. This is particularly the case with contemporary art, especially Pop Art, for, as Sacco (1993) explains, avant-garde art movements have found their raison d'etre in the dynamic relationship between what is represented and the person viewing it. The consumer assumes increasingly direct responsibility, no longer being expected to just passively gaze upon the work. As we have seen, the relationship between the artistic product and the consumer is slightly different for visual and performing arts. In the case of the visual arts the relationship is mediated by the circumstances in which it is experienced. These circumstances include the space, the facilities and the way in which the exhibition is arranged (Valdani and Botti, 1999). In the case of the performing arts, in contrast, there is a "dual mediation," since the way in which the artist performs the piece influences the audiences interpretation of it. In both cases, however, what matters is the subjective value attributed to the emotional experience that is elicited when the individual s personal feelings come in contact with the meanings the artist has chosen to transfer through his/her work. Uniqueness means that a work of art is a one-off, and its value lies in the fact that this is so. Following this reasoning, a lithograph has less value than a painting by the same artist because it is reproduced in several identical copies (Hirschman, 1983, p. 52). Subjectivity and uniqueness of the work of art should not be considered separately, as Hirschman does. On the contrary, they are strictly interrelated, because the uniqueness of a work of art depends primarily on the fact that the emotion sparked by that work of art cannot itself be reproduced. This emotional reaction depends on highly personal factors (e.g., ones affective structure and transient mood) as well as on the circumstances in which the experience takes place (e.g., the environmental conditions) (Castaido and Botti, 1999). Hence ones interaction with a work of art can be influenced by a number of internal and external factors. As a consequence, not only can the emotion vary from person to person, but the same person may react differently on different occasions (Evrard, 1997), so that the same reaction cannot be exactly reproduced before the same piece. As Bamossy (1982, in Hirschman, 1983, p. 51) writes, "aesthetic responses are primarily emotional or feeling responses and thus very personal. " Hirschman herself picks up on VOLUME 2, NUMBER 3 • SPRING 2000 19 This content downloaded from 157.55. 39.108 on Fri, 17 Jun 2016 05:34:18 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor. org/terms this theme (1983, p. 51) when she quotes the artist Michelson-Bagley, who has stated that every single observer of her creations sees a different work of art. It is the subjective emotional experience felt by the members of an audience interacting with a work of art, rather than the fact that it may or may not be reproduced, that makes that work of art unique. This point leads to a number of other considerations that can have a powerful impact on our subject. If it is the experience of consumption that counts, the material support (the media) by means of which the emotion is delivered is irrelevant. The same piece of music or the same poem has the power to provoke different reactions in different people, or even in the same person at different times. Each time it is presented, the tune or the poem becomes a different product. Secondly, we must never confuse the value the market at large places on artistic products with the value a given consumer or a target market segment places on them. Market value is dictated by rarity, as Hirschman points out in her example of the painting and the lithographs. Meanwhile, a consumer values something as "artistic" on the basis of how he or she feels when interacting with the product. By this reckoning, the lithograph could be perceived as having the same artistic value as the painting. In addition, if the environment can have an effect on the interaction, then it is the job of whoever is in charge to manage the interaction itself, in order to ensure an "optimal experience" (Holbrook, 1980). This requires not only that art be made available but also that steps be taken to ensure that it is experienced in the most effective way possible (Valdani and Botti, 1999). These reflections are key to our task because they allow us both to see what the determinants of artistic value are (Figure 3) and to define the field of enquiry, shifting from the question ^flhat is art? to How is the artistic value experienced by different consumers or different market segments? In other words, the focus of the analysis switches from the features of the work to the features of the "service" issues, which shape the environmental conditions in which the interaction between the work of art and the consumer takes place. ■aMll:l*:M THE DETERMINANTS OF ARTISTIC VALUE An understanding of this point requires a deeper examination of the meaning of artistic value. Artistic Value and the Role of Marketing in the Arts a product s artistic value, as assigned by a target audience, depends on its emotional impact, it can be inferred that anything has the potential to possess an intrinsic artistic value. However, to be acknowledged as a work of art, the product must have potential artistic value (artistic potential), which is apparent to the consumer by virtue of the emotions it elicits. Artistic potential is thus very similar to the "flow potential"11 discussed by Bloch and Bruce (1984, p. 199). Flow potential is recognized by the market segment that the authors label "enthusiasts," made up of those consumers who are highly involved with the product itself above and beyond its utility: "ordinary goods such as clothing, automobiles, furniture and record albums are also potentially involving. It is product meaning or the connection between the product and the individual that distinguishes the enthusiast. " This position is 20 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ARTS MANAGEMEN1 ( Environment j