View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Wits Institutional Repository on DSPACE Mikhael Subotzky and the Goodman Gallery: Constructions of Cultural Capital Megan Amy Kidd 22 February 2016 Student Number: 329449 Supervisor: Nontobeko Ntombela A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts in History of Arts, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg Mikhael Subotzky and the Goodman Gallery: Constructions of Cultural Capital Page 1 Abstract In this research report I look at how the Goodman Gallery has played a role in the construction of cultural capital around the contemporary South African photographer Mikhael Subotzky (1981). Unpacking Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of “cultural capital” (1986: 243), and applying it to the South African art industry, I explore the direct impact that commercial galleries have on the building of artists’ careers through acts that result in the construction of cultural capital, and in what capacity they do this. Little has been written in South African art history about local commercial art galleries, and my interest in the role that they play in the construction of art history stems from my own involvement in this sector, as a commercial art gallery curator. As businesses, these institutions have profitable ambitions, and by successfully promoting the artists they represent, they are affecting the course of South African art history. Due to the potentially vast nature of this subject I have chosen to focus on one contemporary artist, Mikhael Subotzky, and his relationship with the one South African gallery he has been affiliated to throughout his entire professional career, the Goodman Gallery. As much as every person’s life is different, every person’s career is different too, and in this way I cannot use Subotzky’s career trajectory to explain all other contemporary South African artists’ careers, but I do believe that the impact that commercial galleries can have on the cultural capital surrounding artists in South Africa is a topic that should be explored further. I argue that there are various ways of gauging the cultural capital surrounding an artist in the South African art industry, and that one can look at various aspects of an artist’s career and assess their cultural capital. I substantiate this claim in this paper, and indeed why it is important to understand what role the commercial gallery can play in this construction. (Keywords: cultural capital; Pierre Bourdieu; commercial art gallery; Goodman Gallery; Mikhael Subotzky; South African art industry) Mikhael Subotzky and the Goodman Gallery: Constructions of Cultural Capital Page 2 Declaration 1. I know that plagiarism is wrong. Plagiarism is using another’s work and to pretend that it is one’s own. 2. I have used the _______________ convention for citation and referencing. Each significant contribution to, and quotation in, this essay/project/report/_____________, from the work, or works of other people has been attributed and has been cited and referenced. 3. This essay/project/report/_____________ is my own work. 4. I have not allowed, and will not allow, anyone to copy my work with the intention of passing it off as his or her own work. SIGNATURE: __________________________ Megan Amy Kidd Signed on the 22nd of February 2016 Mikhael Subotzky and the Goodman Gallery: Constructions of Cultural Capital Page 3 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor, Nontobeko Ntombela, for her constant encouragement, her kind words when I have felt overwhelmed and her incredible attention to detail in the reading and re-reading of this paper. Ntombela truly went above and beyond the call of duty; she constantly drove me to consider the facts from multiple angles, to continually push myself and to never give up. Prof Federico Freschi, Dr Rory Bester and Prof Michael Godby all patiently sat through interviews with me. I would like to thank them for their time, but mostly for their honesty and the great insight they provided me with into the world of academia and the commercial and non-commercial art industries. I would like to thank Mikhael Subotzky for providing me with the inspiration for this paper. His achievements as an artist have made this paper an interesting one to write, and I hope that my research will contribute to what shall no doubt be an intensive field of study on him and his artworks in the future. From the Goodman Gallery I would really like to extend my gratitude to Neil Dundas and Liza Essers. They both took time out of their staggeringly busy schedules to have lengthy interviews with me. They were straightforward in their answers and they provided me with a much greater awareness of the impressive institution that is the Goodman Gallery and its place in South African art history. From In Toto Gallery I would like to deeply thank Jacques Michau and Jessica Slack. They graciously let me have every Tuesday afternoon off for two years to work on this paper, something that often interfered with the running of In Toto. Despite this they provided me with consistent support and cheered me on from the side lines with the greatest spirit. I want to say a very big thank you to a client turned friend, Tanya Appelbaum, who kindly read this paper and offered her views and invaluable insight to me. I would like to thank the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust for their generosity in funding my Masters studies. Without their financial support I would not have been able to fulfil a lifetime dream of obtaining a Masters degree. I want to thank them for believing that I could do this. I would like to thank my mom and dad, Julianne and Andrew Kidd, who have always been the most supportive and inspiring parents. It is because of them that I have continued to push myself and strived to achieve the best that I can. And finally, I would like to thank my wonderful fiancé, Russell Scott. He has had to witness me working through the night and listen to my endless musings on the questions lying within this paper. He has been my constant rock, my loudest cheerleader and the reason this paper is finished. He believed in me from the start and I hope I did him proud. Mikhael Subotzky and the Goodman Gallery: Constructions of Cultural Capital Page 4 Table of Contents Abstract 2 Declaration 3 Acknowledgements 4 Table of Contents 5 Introduction 6 Pierre Bourdieu and Cultural Capital 8 Methodology and Chapter Outline 13 Chapter 1: Mikhael Subotzky and his Relationship with the Goodman Gallery 14 The Early Years 15 Mikhael Subotzky’s Career Development: 2005 – 2012 22 Mikhael Subotzky’s Current Career: 2012 Onwards 29 Chapter 2: The Commercial South African Art Industry and the Goodman Gallery 30 The Commercial South African Art Industry 31 1966 – 2008: The Goodman Gallery and Linda Givon 32 2008 – Present: The Goodman Gallery and Liza Essers 37 Commercial Exhibitions 39 Sales and Prices Achieved for Artworks 40 Sales on the Secondary Market/Auction 42 Chapter 3: The Non-Commercial South African Art Industry 45 Academia and Inclusion in the Curriculum 46 Non-Commercial Exhibitions 47 Academic Writing, Art Criticism and the Media 53 Awards 56 Collections 58 Conclusion 61 References 64 Interviews 70 Other Texts Consulted As Research For This Paper 71 Addendum 1 Mikhael Subotzky’s Curriculum Vitae 74 Mikhael Subotzky and the Goodman Gallery: Constructions of Cultural Capital Page 5 Introduction “The art business is a business, after all.” (Winkleman 2009: 187) In this research report I examine the way in which the Goodman Gallery has played a role in the construction of cultural capital around the contemporary South African photographer Mikhael Subotzky (1981). Unpacking Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of “cultural capital” (1986: 243), and applying it to the South African art industry, I explore the direct impact that commercial galleries can have on the building of artists’ careers through acts that result in the construction of cultural capital, and in what capacity they do this. In examining the interconnected, developing art industry in South Africa I explore how galleries can influence what is seen as relevant in our commercial and non-commercial art industries. By selecting certain artists and artworks to be displayed and promoted, commercial galleries have a hand in shaping South African art history. My interest in the role that these galleries can play in the construction of art history stems from my own involvement in this sector, as a commercial art gallery curator. This paper is not without ambiguity, given that it forms part of an attempt to understand my own current chosen practice. My position as the writer of this paper is, therefore, not value-free, due to my investment within the field of inquiry. Nevertheless, I believe that a certain degree of critical distance has been upheld throughout the research and writing of this paper. I deem it important to investigate these private institutions and to unpack their often hidden workings in order to understand this aspect of the landscape of South African art history. Having gone through three years of undergraduate studies with Art History as one of my majors at the University of Cape Town (UCT), one year of Honours in Art History at the University of Witwatersrand (Wits), and two years of Masters in Art History at Wits, I have yet to encounter a course that mentions the role of the commercial gallery in the construction of South African art history.1 As 1 Elizabeth Mansfield, in her text Art History and its Institutions: Foundations of a Discipline (2002), touches on this notion.