Auction as Cultural and Economic Phenomenon of Contemporary Art Process

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to conceptualise the auction as a cultural and economic phenomenon of the modern art process. To achieve the goal, we have set a range of research tasks: to define the concept of the auction in the system of economic relations within the art market; to highlight the specifics of auction activities in the context of determining the value of a work of art and the factors influencing this; and to consider the specifics of the auction houses as subjects of the modern art market. The research methodology is presented by the system approach, as the auction is considered as a complex symbolic system, consisting of a number of structurally organised elements and close interconnections with other systems, in particular with art, social and economic systems. The study is based on the use of the methods of analysis, synthesis, abstraction, comparison, and generalisation. The scientific novelty lies is the fact that for the first time systematically and structurally a comprehensive analysis has been made of the auction as a phenomenon, which has a dual nature, as it combines economic and symbolic aspects. Conclusions. The article analyses the phenomenon of auctions in the contemporary art process. We have conceptualised the concept of the auction as a cultural and economic phenomenon in the context of the art market system. The concept of a market for objects of art and antiques have been studied in two aspects: as purchasing and selling objects with artistic value and as a field of commodity-money relations that develop between legal entities and individuals to purchase and sell pieces of art and antiques. We have found that pricing in the art market depends not only on the cost of created cultural and art product, but also on a number of socio-cultural factors. Auctions are considered in the system of a secondary art market as the quintessence of market relations in the field of art. We have defined the aesthetics of postmodernism as an axiological basis of the art market and auction activities. Information, intermediary, pricing, stimulating, regulating, and socio-cultural function of auctions have been characterised.

Key words: auction, art market, artwork, art, art process.