The concentration of power in the market for contemporary art: an empirical analysis of ArtReview’s “Power 100”

Art experts and intermediaries play a crucial role in art markets. Artworks are goods whose quality is difficult to determine. Therefore, it seems necessary to restrict competition in the market for art experts to a certain extent, but not too much, in order to provide high-quality know-how. This paper contains an empirical analysis of the extent to which the market for art experts is concentrated. To this end, different methods for measuring the market concentration are applied, with an emphasis on the determination of the distribution function of a newly defined Power Index. The annual Power 100 ranking in the magazine ArtReview from 2002 to 2019 is used to study concentration in the art expert market. The results reveal not only several indications of a hierarchically tiered, but also highly concentrated market power in this market. First, the selection of nationalities of the so-called power members is biased, given that particularly Americans and western Europeans are overrepresented in relation to their world population shares, in contrast to underrepresented Asians, Africans, and Latin Americans. Second, although there is considerable variability in the low tiers of the ranking, the top positions in the rankings are very stable, as shown by the Power Dominance Index. Third, the main empirical result of this paper is that the Top 99 ranking positions follow an extreme value Fréchet distribution with a fat tail. This is interpreted as an indication of excessive concentration on the highest tier of art experts. Liberalizing the art expert market to a certain extent may provide more diversity and less dominance in high-end art markets.

EMPTY BENCH IN INDONESIAN PERFORMING ARTS STUDIES: AUDIENCE

Many Indonesian performing art experts have stated that audience studies were conducted in minimal numbers. However, the exact number of research on performing art audiences in Indonesia remains unclear. The factors that influence it are still not known in detail. This paper used a literature review on seven nationally accredited performing arts journals from art institutes in Indonesia over the past ten years. The results showed that only 3 out of 1034 journal titles focusing on performing art audiences in the last ten years. From these findings, we can conclude that the study on the audiences is so scarce. This research theme is not interesting for performing art experts in Indonesia. Indonesian performing art experts and academicians have left the importance of audience studies. This paper also discusses the factors that influence the negligible of performing arts audience studies in Indonesia.

A Unifying Model of Visual Art Appreciation: The Role of Expertise and Culture

Engagement with art represents one of the few areas in society where people come together to share experiences even when they have radically different worldviews. If all human beings share a common capacity for experiencing and appreciating artworks, it is plausible that the underlying neural and cognitive mechanisms are also common across cultures. But to what extent can art bind us together, and can it transcend boundaries of culture? Or do our in-group biases and preferences persist when watching dance or viewing paintings? Previous research suggests that all individuals show a preference for representational art over abstract art, although this preference is lower for art experts than non-experts. An ingroup bias also exists such that participants from one culture prefer art originating from their own culture compared to from another culture. However, whether the preference for representational art, the ingroup bias, and its modulation by art expertise is consistent and generalisable across cultures and fine and performing arts is not known. In the current study, across two experiments (total N=92 and N=90), we used abstract and representational paintings and dance stimuli of Indian and western origin, and invited Indian and western participants, including painting and dance experts and non-experts to rate art stimuli on beauty and liking. Results suggest that as predicted, a preference for representational art exists (only for paintings) and an ingroup bias exists (only for dance). Both the preference for representational art, and the ingroup bias is modulated by art expertise, such that the preference for representational art is lower in art experts, and the ingroup bias is stronger in non-experts. However, the modulation of art expertise is present only in western participants, and not in Indian participants. Thus, the current findings both inform and constrain understanding of the universality (or not) of aesthetic judgements, and have two major implications: 1) they caution against generalising models of aesthetic appreciation to non-western populations, and across art forms, and 2) they highlight the importance of mere exposure to art as a means of countering ingroup biases and prejudices, evidencing its potential as a medium that binds people together.

The Role of Warhol’s Brillo soap boxes on the Contemporary Aesthetics, based on the “Applied Ontology” Theory of Roger Pouivet

This paper, based on Roger Pouivet’s “applied ontology” theory, studies the effect of Warhol’s Brillo soap boxes, a work that could not convince the art world, when it was first shown, to accept it as an art piece. We strive to answer two questions: In the contemporary age, what aesthetic criteria turn a human-made work into an artwork? And deriving from Pouivete’s “applied ontology” theory, how is a contemporary artwork considered as the personal symbols of the artist and how are the aesthetic characteristics of the work received? An artwork in any style, form and content, includes contextual and formal symbols. In the contemporary age, this becomes a mix of personal symbols and already known collective symbols of a culture that together play a defining role in the creation of the artwork. In other words, a work will be recognized as an artwork when it is the subject of arguments among art experts, even without needing to reach any consensus.

Analisis Makna Filosofis Motif Batik Ponorogo Sebagai Upaya Penanaman Pendidikan Karakter

Ponorogo Regency has its own arts and culture which are the characteristics and identity of this Reog City. One example is batik. Batik Ponorogo has a variety of motifs that are unique and different from other regions. Ponorogo batik motifs are diverse, each of which contains a deep philosophical meaning and assumed to have relevance to the values ​​of noble education character. The purpose of this study was describe the values ​​of education character in the philosophical meaning of the Batik Ponorogo motif and to find out the understanding of high school students in Ponorogo Regency about the philosophical meaning of the Ponorogo batik motif on the values ​​of education character. This study used a qualitative descriptive approach with descriptive-analytical analysis techniques. The data was obtained through in-depth interviews with batik art experts about the philosophical meaning of the Batik Ponorogo motif. Meanwhile, the data on the understanding of high school students in Ponorogo Regency regarding the philosophical meaning of batik was obtained through a questionnaire technique as supporting data. Based on the research that has been done by researchers to batik art experts, the Batik Ponorogo motif contains education character values ​​that can be used to strengthen the students’ character. In addition, from the results of the online questionnaire test that the researchers conducted on high school students in Ponorogo Regency, it was found that they were very familiar with the philosophical meanings which contained in each batik Ponorogo motif and its relevance to education character values. Keywords: Philosophical Meaning of Batik, Education Character, Motif Batik Ponorogo

A New Study on the Contemporary Aesthetics based on the “Applied Ontology” Theory of Roger Pouivet

This article, based on Roger Pouivet’s “Applied Ontology” Theory, studies the effect of Warhol’s Brilloo soap boxes. The work was challenged at the time of its performance and could not convince the art world of accepting it, as an artwork. The research questions of this article are: 1. In the contemporary period, what aesthetic criteria turn a human work into an artwork? 2. According to Pouivete’s “Applied Ontology” Theory, how and with what approach is contemporary work of art considered as the personal symbolism of the artist and how is the governing aesthetics read? The hypothesis of the article is that the work of art in any way includes formal and content symbolism. Basically, in the contemporary period, the artist’s personal symbolism plays a finishing role in the creation of the artwork by mixing with already known collective symbols in a culture. The result suggests that in Contemporary Aesthetics, a work is recognized as a work of art when it is debated and exchanged without the need for consensus among art experts. The research method of this article is analytical-qualitative which has been done by collecting library information and virtual documents.

Aesthetic Evaluation of Digitally Reproduced Art Images

Most people encounter art images as digital reproductions on a computer screen instead of as originals in a museum or gallery. With the development of digital technologies, high-resolution artworks can be accessed anywhere and anytime by a large number of viewers. Since these digital images depict the same content and are attributed to the same artist as the original, it is often implicitly assumed that their aesthetic evaluation will be similar. When it comes to the digital reproductions of art, however, it is also obvious that reproductions do differ from the originals in various aspects. Besides image quality, resolution, and format, the most obvious change is in the representation of color. The effects of subjectively varying surface-level image features on art evaluation have not been clearly assessed. To address this gap, we compare the evaluation of digital reproductions of 16 expressionist and impressionist paintings manipulated to have a high color saturation vs. a saturation similar to the original. We also investigate the impact of viewing time (100 ms vs. unrestricted viewing time) and expertise (art experts vs. laypersons), two other aspects that may impact the perception of art in online contexts. Moreover, we link these dimensions to a recent model of aesthetic experience [the Vienna Integrated Model of Top-Down and Bottom-Up Processes in Art Perception (VIMAP)]. Results suggest that color saturation does not exert a major influence on liking. Cognitive and emotional aspects (interest, confusion, surprise, and boredom), however, are affected – to different extents for experts and laypersons. For laypersons, the increase in color saturation led to more positive assessments of an artwork, whereas it resulted in increased confusion for art experts. This insight is particularly important when it comes to reproducing artworks digitally. Depending on the intended use, increasing or decreasing the color saturation of the digitally reproduced image might be most appropriate. We conclude with a discussion of these findings and address the question of why empirical aesthetics requires more precise dimensions to better understand the subtle processes that take place in the perception of today’s digitally reproduced art environment.

KONTRIBUSI UMAYYAH ANDALUSIA DALAM PENGEMBANGAN ILMU PENGETAHUAN

The Andalusian Umayyad dynasty was a continuation of the Damascus Umayyad which was destroyed on the Iberian peninsula, the entry of Islam in Andalusia was first brought by the commander Tharif bin Malik at the suggestion of Musa bin Nushair to the Caliph al-Walid. After conquering Christian kingdoms in almost all regions of Andalusia, the rulers of the Umayyad dynasty focused their attention on the development of science and science which made big names like Ibn Rushd, Ibn Firnas and Ibn Hazm. The Andalusian rulers opened the palace doors as wide as possible for discussion activities, provided laboratories and made the palace a gathering place for art experts and writers from all over to pour works and artistic creations. The government's attention to scientists made Andalusia a beacon of civilization at a time when European society lived in darkness and ignorance. The progress that was made during the Umayyad Andalusian era which would later inspire the birth of the Renaissance era which was marked by the industrial revolution in Europe.

Evaluating risk, safety and efficacy of novel reproductive techniques and therapies through the EuroGTP II risk assessment tool

STUDY QUESTION Can risks associated with novelties in assisted reproduction technologies (ARTs) be assessed in a systematic and structured way? SUMMARY ANSWER An ART-specific risk assessment tool has been developed to assess the risks associated with the development of novelties in ART (EuroGTP II-ART). WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY How to implement new technologies in ART is well-described in the literature. The successive steps should include testing in animal models, executing pre-clinical studies using supernumerary gametes or embryos, prospective clinical trials and finally, short- and long-term follow-up studies on the health of the offspring. A framework categorizing treatments from experimental through innovative to established according to the extent of the studies conducted has been devised. However, a systematic and standardized methodology to facilitate risk evaluation before innovations are performed in a clinical setting is lacking. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION The EuroGTP II-ART risk assessment tool was developed on the basis of a generic risk assessment algorithm developed for tissue and cell therapies and products (TCTPs) in the context of the project ‘Good Practices for demonstrating safety and quality through recipient follow-up European Good Tissue and cells Practices II (EuroGTP II)’. For this purpose, a series of four meetings was held in which eight ART experts participated. In addition, several tests and simulations were undertaken to fine-tune the final tool. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS The three steps comprising the EuroGTP II methodology were evaluated against its usefulness and applicability in ART. Ways to improve and adapt the methodology into ART risk assessment were agreed and implemented. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE Assessment of the novelty (Step 1), consisting of seven questions, is the same as for other TCTPs. Practical examples were included for better understanding. Identification of potential risks and consequences (Step 2), consisting of a series of risks and risk consequences to consider during risk assessment, was adapted from the generic methodology, adding more potential risks for processes involving gonadic tissues. The algorithm to score risks was also adapted, giving a specific range of highest possible risk scores. A list of strategies for risk reduction and definition of extended studies required to ensure effectiveness and safety (Step 3) was also produced by the ART experts, based on generic EuroGTP II methodology. Several explanations and examples were provided for each of the steps for better understanding within this field. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION A multidisciplinary team is needed to perform risk assessment, to interpret results and to determine risk mitigation strategies and/or next steps required to ensure the safety in the clinical use of novelties. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS This is a dynamic tool whose value goes beyond assessment of risk before implementing a novel ART in clinical practice, to re-evaluate risks based on information collected during the process. STUDY FUNDING / COMPETING INTEREST(S) This study was called EUROGTP II and was funded by the European Commission (Grant agreement number 709567). The authors declare no competing interests concerning the results of this study.