THE PUBLIC AND THE SOCIAL PRESTIGE

to part of the public who does not buy, although it demonstrates certain interest in the art, it serves significantly (although of an indirect form) for to increase the sales, because, to to help to raise the social prestige of the works of art it turns them in more appetizing for the few ones that can allow themselves the luxury of acquiring them. In fact, a big part of the pleasure of the holders of works of art is born of the fact of feeling superior to all those who owe to limit to wishing them or "to enjoy them" only esthetically.

The fans who frequent regularly the galleries for pure esthetic pleasure, without interested by the economic value of the art, do not exist in practice. Consequently, stopping to the margin the occasional visitors, which frequents the galleries without buying anything is because it has no money or not long ago that he is interested actively by the art. The above mentioned, buyers and collectors in potency, determined by the ambience of the ambience most of the times, after certain time begin carrying some acquisition out. If they take taste to the thing and keep on buying, obsessed by the cultivation of the "noble interests", to a little time are thought more and more expert and, almost inevitably, they turn into real and authentic collectors.

Of course, that the collectors do not present a homogeneous category but they can split into children, medium or big, on the one hand; and also in collectors with cultural or speculative purposes, or of mixed type.

THE ART CRITICISM
As communicative function

The art criticism is a communicative function that speaks not only to the public in general and to the artists in particular, but to the big reading public who wishes information about the structural aspects of the art.

The information, then, like all communication, has to be truthful and objective. It has to be particularly honest and undoubtedly it has to have the characteristics, although subjective like any rough function subordinated to the criterion of the one who exercises, ontological for that one asks to all communication directed to the masses, or to more or less nourished elites.

(...)

For generalization, we call work of art, literary, musical, etc., to all those external social declarations that an artist reveals like result of a creative premeditation. To the gentleman who speaks before such distinguished samples or writes on them that there is called he also, to distinguish, it is me who believes, "I criticize of...". And here the transposition of the values begins; from here it starts the frightening state of the critical levels. Because such a gentleman who speaks or writes before such distinguished or external samples that he is not a critic. It is, if perhaps, a chronicler, a reporter of art, of music, literary, etc. With the whole honor and quality that takes with it so noble profession. But I insist, chronicler or commentator who comes to be the denominative one that dá to if the same any that one that pastelea with the art criticism and it assigns quality to everything what it sees without never dissenting.

(...)

This is the question. For much that should hurt to say it, it is necessary to say it. We endure an epidemic of opportunism that is evident in these small intellectual groups constitute you in clan.

(...)

More the criticism, all we know it, he aspires at a few levels separated from the reflective thought, very different from the assigned ones by fans and commentators satisfied in spite of writing for the friends.

Abridged text of an article of Fernando Mon, published in the year 1984, in the number 44 of the magazine "DIART".

THE VISION OF GOÑI

Click on this image to contemplate the interpretation dibujística that artist Goñi has realized on the relation between art and marketing.