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Patronage, Business and the Value of Art

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Patronage, Business and the Value of Art PATRONAGE, BUSINESS AND THE VALUE OF ART: The Corporate Arts Sponsorship of Absa Bank and Hollard Insurance. Jenni Verschoor A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in the fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in History of Art. Johannesburg, 2009 i ABSTRACT This report is a study into the corporate sponsorship of art as is evident in South Africa today. Starting with a history of patronage in the West, it leads to South Africa and the role currently being played by South African companies in the art world. Through an examination of South African patronage by the government and direct interviews with individuals involved in government and corporate sponsorship of the arts, this report endeavours to show how and why organisations such as Absa Bank and Hollard Insurance have chosen to involve themselves in the art world. I will then follow on to discuss the effect that this corporate sponsorship has on the value of art – financially, socially and culturally. The end result will be study on the relationship that exists between the benefactor and the beneficiary of corporate sponsorship in South Africa and the resulting impact this has on the perceived value of art. (art; patronage; value; corporate sponsorship; investment art; corporate collections; Absa; Hollard) ii DECLARATION I declare that this research report is my own unaided work. It is submitted for the degree of Masters in History of Art in the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. It has not been submitted before for any other degree or examination in any other university. ________________________________ Jenni Verschoor Signed on this, the 31st day of August, 2009 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In the course of writing this research report I have received help from various sources. I would therefore like to extend my sincerest gratitude to: Federico Freschi at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, as supervisor of this work. His vast knowledge in art history, amongst so many other things, and his critical eye has been a most valuable crutch in the construction of this work. Nicola Danby, former Managing Director of Business and Arts South Africa (BASA), for inviting me into her home and giving of her time to provide me with an extensive and insider’s perspective into the running of BASA, its objectives and the various projects which it has initiated and supported. And, for clearly illustrating the immense reciprocal benefits to be had in the business-art partnership. Cecile Loedolff, Curator of the Absa art collection, for taking the time to speak to me and share her knowledge and extensive experience with the Absa art collection and their associated sponsorship activities. The information that she provided me with in the course of our interview was invaluable in the construction of this report. Her deep respect for the arts is clearly evident Jeanetta Blignaut, Curator of the Hollard art collection and Director of Coeo, whose inside perspective into the compilation of the Hollard collection and their various other art sponsorship activities provided great insight into the potential altruism of some of South Africa’s corporations and the benefits that this can have on society as a whole. The management and staff at Investec, for understanding and giving me the time to pursue this goal. Finally, to my parents, Geoff and Silia Verschoor, for their financial support, their moral support and their unending patience. This would have been impossible otherwise. iv CONTENTS ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................................................ii DECLARATION ..........................................................................................................................................iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS........................................................................................................................iv CHAPTER 1 - Introduction:....................................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 2 - Patronage and social history: ............................................................................... 11 The Renaissance: The fourteenth to sixteenth centuries..................................................... 11 Nationalism, the Industrial Revolution and the commoditisation of art: The...................... 17 seventeenth to nineteenth centuries........................................................................................ 17 Art in the twentieth century .......................................................................................................26 CHAPTER 3 - Corporate sponsorship as it currently stands: Absa and Hollard – a case study: ............................................................................................................................................ 36 Business and Arts South Africa and the contemporary South African patron................... 37 Absa Bank: Long-standing support.......................................................................................... 42 Hollard Insurance: New-comer to the market.........................................................................50 Investment potential................................................................................................................... 56 CHAPTER 4 - Art as investment:...................................................................................................... 57 Cultural and social investment .................................................................................................59 Economic Investment ................................................................................................................ 64 Investing in the corporate art collection .................................................................................. 70 CHAPTER 5 - Conclusion:................................................................................................................... 74 BIBLIOGRAPHY....................................................................................................................................... 79 v CHAPTER 1 - Introduction: There is a growing trend amongst corporate organisations in South Africa today to become more involved in the arts. Through the gradual implementation of corporate art collections and other sponsorship activities related to the arts, South African companies are effectively creating new forms of patronage and, in doing so, are having a significant impact on how art is being valued in their market. It is the purpose of this research report therefore to examine corporate sponsorship as it currently stands in South Africa, through the use of two case studies – Absa Bank and Hollard Insurance. In a close examination of their individual relationship with the arts – the corporate collections, sponsorship activities and the reasons behind this involvement – I hope to show how a mutually beneficial relationship can be maintained between business and art, the investment potential that has arisen from such a relationship, and ultimately the effect that this has on how art is valued in the art market and the impact this can have on society as a whole. Patronage and sponsorship of the arts has existed for as long as the arts have been acknowledged as a cultural activity. In almost every age artists have sought out patrons to support their endeavours and allow them the opportunity to create works that reflect their experiences of the world and their perceptions of what they see around them (Chagy, n.d.: 19). These patrons in turn, have associated themselves with such artists, to achieve greater visibility in society, increased status, and recognition amongst those they aspire towards. As the reader will come to understand throughout the course of this research report, it has ultimately become a relationship about value, the perception of value and how this is transferred from one partner to another. Historically, however, this exchange of values between the artist and the patron has not proven to be a balanced one. Rather, as I demonstrate in a brief analysis of the history of art and patronage in Chapter 2, from the Renaissance until the twentieth century, the power has tended one way or the other, usually in the direction of the patron, who holds the economic wherewithal required by the artist to successfully carry out his/her craft. Chapter 2 covers the advancements of art in Europe and eventually America, as it transverses from the Renaissance to today, briefly covering changing aspects in the social order as it moves through the Enlightenment, to a growing sense of nationalism; from industrialisation, to the age of mechanical reproduction; commercialisation and the far- reaching arms of globalisation. In doing so, the chapter also introduces the theories of a number of sociologists, anthropologists and art historians, as it tracks the constantly evolving role of the artist in relation to the society in which he/she operates. 1 Giorgio Vasari, for one, in his theses of the great masters of the Renaissance, illustrates how the role of the artist has changed from that of craftsman to independent operator. He portrays the Renaissance artist as a genius in his/her field, wholly responsible for the multitude of masterpieces created throughout the age. His text, Lives of the Artists: Biographies of the Most Eminent
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