Think piece: expanding our knowledge of art (and related) markets

Citation

Walmsley, B. and Meamber, L. (2019), "Think piece: expanding our knowledge of art (and related) markets", Arts and the Market, Vol. 9 No. 2, pp. 113-114. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAM-10-2019-036

Think piece: expanding our knowledge of art (and related) markets

Enlarging and enriching our understanding of arts (and related) markets is the unifying theme of Issue 9.2 of Arts and the Market. This issue includes a combination of regular and special section content. The regular articles span a variety of subjects related to commercial artistic products – such as film and television, live entertainment, video games. Once again, as co-editors we are really pleased to welcome a diverse body of authors who offer a broad representation of themes and perspectives from around the world.

Situated within the world of film and television, two articles in this issue focus on either end of the production and consumption process. “From aura to jargon: the social life of authentication” by Jonathan Södergren adds to the discourse on authenticity by examining how costume design contributes to images of authenticity in film. The findings illustrate how authenticity is a negotiated act, and the text provides rich examples of the visual language that costume designers draw upon to authenticate re-enactments of historical moments in film. This paper should inspire future scholarly work on the production of authenticity across various artistic spheres. At the other end of production-consumption the spectrum, “Post-series depression: scale development and validation” by Rita Kottasz, Roger Bennett and Tom Randell, examines the consequences of the ending of a film or televised/streamed product on some consumers. The authors provide a scale to measure the feelings of melancholy and longing an individual consumer experiences after a beloved or engaging cinematic experience or series/show concludes, and this consumer is left to deal with the after-consumption loss. While the former paper illustrates the power of costume design to create films resonant with authenticity for consumers, the later paper measures the lingering feelings and strategies consumers engage in as involvement with new absorbing film and television content is no longer possible. The second work stirs possibilities for future work on consumers and audience feelings and behaviour after engagement with an artwork, artistic product or experience is over.

Another article examining consumption of an artistic product, in this case video games, is “Effect of interactivity and congruence on brand advocacy and brand acceptance” by Devika Yashisht. This piece is positioned at the intersection of “advergame” or in-game advertising content in video games and branding, providing insights on consumer behaviour as related to branded entertainment. “How Artistic Directors motivate the consistency of artists’ performance” by Anthony Ricotta, Susan Fan, and Rocky Dwyer, provides a case study grounded in the live-entertainment industry exploring the actions taken by organisational leadership in the areas of well-being and the fostering technical competence of their employees upon performance consistency. This piece invites future thought and study in the realms of arts management, artist health and performance quality.

The remaining papers in this issue comprise the special section content on the topic of mission driven arts organisations and initiatives, a section guest edited by Elizabeth Carnegie and Andreana Drencheava. Carnegie and Drencheava argues that the arts have reached a point of “rupture” as the intersection of globalisation, nationalism, and neoliberalism creates a “multidimensional uncertainty” that is impacting profoundly on the lived experiences of artists, artist-led initiatives and cultural organisations. The papers showcased in this section address these important drivers in different ways, highlighting the truly global nature of this rupture and offering some potential responses to it.

We hope that the expansive nature of topics across the issue continues to inspire readership and future submissions that continue to speak to, challenge and expand our knowledge of arts and markets across domains, perspectives and disciplines.

Ben Walmsley and Laurie Meamber