The research project Owning Online Art – Study for a Net Art Gallery
As an application oriented research project, Owning Online Art (OOA) investigated requirements for the integration of web-based art into the art market. The business partners envisioned the foundation of a gallery for web-based media art: package deal was intended to prove the sales merit of web-based works by the detailed definition of the individual artistic work and by contractual agreements concerning their maintenance and use on the part of the buyers. The retaining of purchase commissions and grant commissions is due to the conservation effort that is often difficult to estimate in advance in view of technological advances as well as a value philosophy which continues to prize the idea of the unique specimen, and therefore the exclusive claim of ownership. In dialog with an interdisciplinary team, OOA entered the discussion about the marketing of web-based works. Among others, collaboration with AktiveArchive, which provided solution options for the maintenance of web-based works, proved to be beneficial. There was also a successful brokerage to the company collection of Ricola in Laufen, of an artist who designed an Intranet for the staff; the purchase of the work has meanwhile already taken place. In discussion with experts from the contemporary arts business, the requirement for trustworthy brokerage models proved to be an urgent one. Parallel to the art study placement of select works, conventional and Intranet-specific economic aspects were part of the debate, whereby a realistic market evaluation also makes the sale of niche products, in the form of smaller editions and down loads, appear attractive. The business partners refrained from the idea of a primarily commercially operating gallery. Alternatively to the customary business transactions, interfaces between institutional brokerage and the art market became a research field: The business partners produce evidence that web-based art is collectible in principle by the compilation of an own collection (Digital Art Collection). In an integrated store (Digital Art Store) they are simultaneously developing an assortment of works and editions for sale on the open market. The objective of commercial value adding remains, the implementation, however, takes a different path via the establishment and care of an own art stock. Nowadays, artists attest to the importance spatially of attractive presentations of their works; the need for attractive sets of measures in the showroom or also private exhibition space was partially used as a basis for the development of a console for playing interactive, digital media works of art. Based on the novel concept of collection and integrated store, OOA supports the idea of a competence center for new media art in Basle, which will be integrated in the near future into the House of Electronic Arts that is currently being established. This publication sums up the results of the research in a series of texts. Additionally, it makes available partial research for further investigations. With the support of the FHNW/Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst and the Christoph Merian Stiftung, it has been possible to design a format for this that meets the various needs of research at the art colleges and also takes into consideration to international approach of the same. Markus Schwander and Reinhard Storz were in charge of the research project, coordination was provided by Isabel Zurcher. Owning Online Art was under the direction of the Institut Kunst, Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst FHNW, Switzerland. The project was supported by grants from the Kommission für Technologie und Innovation (KTI) of the Bundesamt für Berufsbildung und Technologie (http://www.bbt.admin.ch/kti/index.html?lang=de) [05.2010] Project-No.: 8449.2;2 ESPP-ESProject term: Feb 1 2007 to March 31 2009
Research team
Head
Markus Schwander (FHNW Hochschule fur Gestaltung und Kunst) und Reinhard Storz (Digital Art Collection / Digital Art Store)
Team FHNW
Dr. Simon Grand, Esther Hunziker, Markus Schwander, Beo von Arx, Isabel Zürcher
Practical partners
Tabea Lurk (AktiveArchive, Bern), Annette Schindler (Plug-in, Basel), Urs Staub (BAK, Bern), Reinhard Storz (Digital Art Collection / Digital Art Store)
Scientific partners
Dr. Rachel Mader (University of Berne), Prof. Dr. Peter Schneemann (University of Berne), Dr. Felix Stalder (ZHdK)
Experts
Stephan Kunz (Aargauer Kunsthaus Aarau), Dr. Roman Kurzmeyer (Collection Ricola), Tweaklab and Regula Buchel (Design wall console)
Artists involved
Beat Brogle, Birgit Kempker, Marc Lee, Olia Lialina, Cornelia Sollfrank, Carlo Zanni