ATM at the Rose

Mark Auslander, director of the graduate program in Cultural Production at Brandeis University, reflects on the recent "ATM: Art Trumps Money" art project by Steve Miller, with Brandeis students, protesting the announced closing of the Rose as a public art museum and the sale of its major works. The piece raises interesting questions about the relationship between capital and the contemporary art market.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Rose Art Museum
• art and activism
• contemporary art market
• cultural production
• Brandeis University
• museums
• museum studies

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PS: By the way--I'm not sure the art of our time is as fused with capitalism as all that. I have many artist friends, and though I buy their work have never spent more than $125 on a piece of art. They work in cheap and free materials, on small scales, and consciously make art that avoids the market.

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The final speculation on the future of the ATM banner reminds me of Boggs' oil paintings of currency in the 80s--sold for exactly the amount of the denomination pictured in the painting (i.e. $5.00 for a painting of a $5 bill), which he used at restaurants to pay for meals.

In this case though there is also the issue of "aura"--the banner now over the door of the Rose is an icon as well as an artwork, a sacred object to museums that will show it in fearful solidarity with its original site.