Eva Wruck

Marktwerte. Zeitgenössische Kunst im Museum

Introduction

Marktwerte. Zeitgenössische kunst im museum. Marktwerte und Inszenierung zeitgenössischer Kunst im Museum, am Beispiel von Matthew Barneys The Cremaster Cycle. Beleuchtet kunsthistorische Kriterien.

Abstract

Eva Wruck befasst sich mit Matthew Barneys Werk The Cremaster Cycle. Anhand der Werkschau im Guggenheim Museum New York im Jahr 2003 werden Marketing und Inszenierung von Werks und Künstler beleuchtet und nach kunsthistorischen Beurteilungskriterien gefragt.

Review

Eva Wruck's article, "Marktwerte. Zeitgenössische Kunst im Museum," proposes a critical and timely investigation into the complex intersection of market forces and artistic valuation within the contemporary museum landscape. The study centers on Matthew Barney's ambitious *The Cremaster Cycle*, utilizing the prominent 2003 retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum New York as its primary case study. At its core, the article aims to dissect the intricate marketing and staging strategies employed for both the monumental artwork and the artist, ultimately questioning their relationship to established art historical evaluation criteria. The chosen subject matter holds significant relevance in the current discourse surrounding contemporary art, particularly given the escalating market prominence and the evolving role of museums in its presentation and legitimization. By concentrating on an artist of Matthew Barney's stature and a major institution like the Guggenheim, Wruck is uniquely positioned to offer valuable insights into how curatorial decisions, promotional efforts, and public reception can converge with or diverge from academic assessments of artistic merit. This critical examination of marketing and theatrical staging within a museum context promises to illuminate how "market values" can significantly influence, and sometimes even overshadow, purely aesthetic or conceptual judgments. The article's central inquiry into art historical evaluation criteria is arguably its most vital contribution. It has the potential to shed light on whether and how traditional art historical methodologies can adequately engage with works that are often heavily mediated by market logic and sophisticated promotional campaigns. This analysis could provide a nuanced understanding of the challenges faced by art historians and critics in distinguishing between commercially successful spectacle and works of profound artistic substance, especially within an institutional framework designed to confer legitimacy. As such, Wruck's work should be of significant interest to scholars of contemporary art, museum studies, and the sociology of art, offering a robust framework for discussing the complex nexus of art, commerce, and cultural institutions.

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