Hanley, Bo Else (2016) Commissioning for Purpose: Investigating Commissioning As a Collecting Strategy for Municipal Museums and Galleries 2000-Present
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Hanley, Bo Else (2016) Commissioning for purpose: investigating commissioning as a collecting strategy for municipal museums and galleries 2000-present. PhD thesis. https://theses.gla.ac.uk/7449/ Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Enlighten: Theses https://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] Commissioning for purpose: investigating commissioning as a collecting strategy for municipal museums and galleries 2000–present Bo Els´eHanley BA (Hons), MLitt Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD Department of History of Art School of Culture and Creative Arts University Of Glasgow March 2016 c Bo Hanley, 2016 Abstract The use of the ‘commission-accession’ principle as a mechanism for sustainable collecting in public museums and galleries has been significantly under-researched, only recently soliciting attention from national funding bodies in the United Kingdom (UK). This research has assessed an unfolding situation and provided a body of current evaluative evidence for commission-based acquisitions and a model for curators to use in future contemporary art purchases. ‘Commission-accession’ is a practice increasingly used by European and American museums yet has seen little uptake in the UK. Very recent examples demonstrate that new works produced via commissioning which then enter permanent collections, have significant financial and audience benefits that UK muse- ums could harness, by drawing on the expertise of local and national commissioning organisations. Very little evaluative information is available on inter-institutional prece- dents in the United States (US) or ‘achat par commande’ in France. Neither is there yet literature that investigates the ambition for and viability of such models in the UK. This thesis addresses both of these areas, and provides evaluative case studies that will be of particular value to curators who seek sustainable ways to build their contemporary art collections. It draws on a survey of 82 museums and galleries across the UK conducted for this research, which provide a picture of where and how ‘commission-accession’ has been applied, and demonstrates its impacts as a strategy. In addition interviews with artists and curators in the UK, US and France on the social, economic and cultural implications of ‘commission-accession’ processes were undertaken. These have shed new light on issues inherent to the commissioning of contemporary art such as communica- tion, trust, and risk as well as drawing attention to the benefits and challenges involved in commissioning as of yet unmade works of art. Declaration and Copyright ii Declaration This thesis represents the original work of Bo Hanley unless explicitly stated otherwise in the text. The research upon which it is based was carried out at the University of Glasgow, under the supervision of Dr. Tina Fiske, during the period September 2008 to August 2013. Bo Hanley Copyright Attention is drawn to the fact that the copyright of this thesis rests with the author. This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with the author and that no quotation from the thesis and no information derived from it may be published without prior written consent of the author. Acknowledgements This PhD research was inspired by a series of stimulating discussions that took place at a conference organised by the Visual Arts and Galleries Association entitled ‘The Legacies of Commissioning’ in the Autumn of 2007 following the completion of my Masters study in the Department of the History of Art at the University of Glasgow. It was this introduction to the use of commissioning and ‘commission-accession’ practices and the benefits that they o↵ered to public museums and galleries and artists that stirred my interest in this subject. Subsequently, my primary supervisor, Dr. Tina Fiske’s insight and encouragement prompted the initiation of this research, for which I am grateful. I would like to thank her for her sensitivity and belief in the ideas manifested during the course of this project as well as for her support and guidance, especially on all things literary, throughout the writing of this thesis project. Thanks too, to my second supervisor, Elizabeth Hancock for her practical and administrative assistance throughout this period of study. My gratitude also goes to the University of Glasgow for Awarding me consecutive De- partment of the History of Art AHRC Training Awards in 2009 and 2010, which enabled me to travel to cities across the UK and France to conduct interviews for this research. To Carol Doyle and Dr. Ailsa Boyd I also extend my sincerest thanks for their dedication and support with all things administrative. I am most grateful for the generosity of time and the forthrightness of the curators and artists interviewed for this research: Ali Subotnick, Amanda Draper, Lindsay Taylor, Andrea Kusel, Anna Robertson, Ben Harman, Eva Gonzalez-Sancho, Fiona Bradley, Franck Gautherot, Jessica Morgan, Jo Digger, Katrina Brown, Laura Turner, Lisa Pant- ing, Lucy Bayley, Mungo Campbell, Rob Bowman, Sarah Munro, Suzanne Cotter – Joanne Tatham, Tom O’Sullivan, Johanna Billing, Martin Boyce, Richard Wright and Toby Paterson. The clarity of their voices and genuine responses to my questions en- riched the content of this thesis beyond measure. Thanks also go out to all of the UK iii Acknowledgements iv museum and gallery professionals who took the time to participate and respond to my survey, which o↵ered a starting point for this project. Many thanks also extend to those friends and colleagues who helped me along the way. I am very grateful for their care and moral support. I am especially grateful for the tireless support of Stuart Yarrow and Uthayasankaran Peralagu, in the School of Engineering for aiding in the formatting of this thesis. Finally, I would like to thank my family, who have been there from the start and all the days since. In particular, my father and brothers for their relentless positivity, encouragement and support without which this research would not have been possible. I regret that my biggest advocate and closest confidante throughout my education, my father, could not be here to see the completion of this project, though I am grateful to him beyond measure. A special thanks also goes to my mother, who cast a silent glance over this work and has been with me all along. I am also deeply indebted to my mother-in-law, Gordana Jokic, who supported me in more ways than I can list in the final leg of this project and to Ogi and Una for their patience with me throughout the final year of work. Contents Abstract i Acknowledgements iii List of Figures viii List of Acronyms x Associated Publications xii Introduction 1 ScopeoftheStudy.................................. 8 Critical Debates and Literature on Art Commissioning . 11 Composition and Hierarchies within the Artworld . 36 Competition, Reputation and Prestige . 54 Methodology ..................................... 60 TheQuestionnaire ............................... 61 Qualitative Data – Recording the Voices of Artists and Commissioners as Methodology .............................. 64 The Interview . 65 The Theory of Trust as a Methodology . 67 The Interview Relationship as Trust-based Practice . 68 1 A Short History of Commissioning: Contracts, Relationships and the Making of New Art 76 1.1 Introduction................................... 76 1.2 Contracts .................................... 100 v Contents vi 1.2.1 Artists: Authorship and Guarantees . 109 1.2.2 Artists’ Fees and the Role of Production . 116 1.2.3 Collaboration and Exchange . 122 1.2.3.1 Trust ............................. 133 1.2.3.2 Risk.............................. 141 1.3 Conclusion ................................... 147 2 Commissioning as a Trust-Based Practice 152 2.1 Introduction................................... 152 2.2 TrustandWhyitisImportant ........................ 162 2.3 Trust:BenefitsandRisks ........................... 167 2.4 Contracts, Surveillance and Performance Measures: Do They Promote Trust?...................................... 172 2.5 MutualTrustandInterdependence . 182 2.6 Nurturing and Sustaining Trust in Public Museums and Galleries . 187 2.7 Conclusion ................................... 193 3 Museums and Commissioned Art: Models and International Compar- isons 196 3.1 InternationalModels .............................. 200 3.1.1 Fonds Regionaux d’Art Contemporain (FRAC) . 200 3.1.2 Le Consortium Centre D’Art Contemporain . 219 3.1.3 ThreeMuseumsProject(3M). 233 3.2 UKModels ................................... 240 3.2.1 The National Collecting Scheme Scotland . 244 3.2.2 3 Series: 3 Artists; 3 Spaces; 3 Years . 259 3.2.3 Contemporary Art Society ‘Commission–Collect’ Award and Art FundInternational ........................... 263 3.3 Conclusion ................................... 270 4 Case Studies: Artists’ Perspectives on Commissioning 282 4.1 Introduction..................................