Who determines the value of art? Gallerists? Critics? Collectors? Curators? Or perhaps the audience? Over the years we can see the art has been revolving, since the 20th century, artists have been creating all forms of non-traditional forms of art such as dance, music, and many others. Before the era of the Second World War, artists looked into more traditional mediums of painting, printmaking, and sculpture which wasn’t appreciated as much. Yet, over the past couple of decades, film and photography are more readily accepted and has been revolving into new forms which are considered to be part of the art. For centuries, art has been influenced by the social movements around them, for instance, after the artists found themselves creating art confronted by the realities of postwar reconstruction, new ideologies, etc. After visiting the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), Art Gallery at York University (AGYU) and Nuit Blanche 2017, I seem to be more drawn to smaller art galleries compared to the larger ones; the AGYU has been a great influence in this statement. Rajni Perara’s 3 figures and Antique Jordan’s Arming by Clara have helped me come to this conclusion after looking at the great contrast in their work yet they are showcased under the same roof.
Small-scale galleries such as AGYU is more specialized and can focus on one concept or idea rather than having to keep a wide variety of topics which cater to all types of viewers such as the AGYU’s exhibition on Migrating the Margins, the exhibition which is a reflection of the changes in the city’s culture which is a result of years of immigration and life in the suburbs, compared to a large scale gallery such as the AGO which holds more than 90,000 pieces ranging from the first century to the present day. Moreover, small-scale exhibitions can be more creative in their selections rather than having to stick to the somewhat “historic” pieces of work, for example Nuit Blanche presented 110 pieces of work however, not all of them were preferred as much but it reaches out to a greater audience since people can pick and choose what appeals to them; this year at Nuit Blanche, a set from the Stranger Things was recreated through Toronto’s underground walkway near Osgoode Hall, which was a tribute to the second season of the show.
Institutions such as the AGO do not change their artwork as frequently as the AGYU, galleries often have an agreement with other museums, that helps rotate art all around the world to be showcased to a vast audience. Even though, they are trying to make it more personalize for the audience to understand their work, like the AGO, is hosting a curator talk Florine Stettheimer, it doesn’t hold the same value as walking into the AGYU at any time and speaking to the curator: Suzanne Carte, where she explains her personal experiences with the artists and shares her story as the exhibition was being put together rather than only seeing the finished piece, I distinctively remember one of the stories she told us during our visit, when the exhibition was being set up one of Rajni Perara’s work was suppose to be in the front near the entrance however, after the exhibition was put together they decided to move the piece to the back, behind a wall which seems to be more like a room and how she created the moon behind the piece within an afternoon.
Furthermore, it may be difficult to gain recognition, often times when people go to smaller galleries, they tend to remember the names of the artists better since they are only seeing limited pieces of work, personally when I visited the Nuit Blanche due to the atmosphere and crowd I don’t seem to remember the names of the artists that I had seen, but on the other hand, since viewers can take their time to observe the artwork, they tend to appreciate it further such as when I went to the AGYU, I felt much more connected to what I saw. Adding on, small galleries have only a handful of employees, it is easier to make changes to suit the liking of the audience and give a rapid response along with, having a close relationship with the board of directors. Personally, I feel like even though there is a wide variety of art in large-scale galleries they sometimes feel like the artist has done this as a profession rather than putting their heart into it, although it may have a fascinating story behind it, it doesn’t have a connection with the viewer. Unfortunately, artwork these days seems to be more about social class and status rather than about the art itself, like I could have seen the Mona Lisa in Paris, but no one wants to know about the Mona Lisa or the history of the painting.
On the other hand, small-scale galleries aren’t recognized as much since they lack recognition such as the Whippersnapper Gallery in Chinatown which hadn’t been discovered until a few years ago, after several reviews through various sites, it has gained a positive feedback. Buyers may also prefer to purchase artwork from a large gallery due to its public reputation and since art is so expensive, they rather be assured and confident of what they are getting rather than buying something that may not be authentic, it's like buying a diamond from a well-known jewelry store compared to a small one in the middle of nowhere. Moreover, as we discussed in class earlier minor art galleries cannot be placed at city centers due to the unaffordable rent, they are moved to urban areas where costs are lower such as the Powerplant which is located on the outskirts.
Over the past couple of years, art galleries and exhibitions are becoming more and more populated due to its increase in demand, such as at the Nuit Blanche, it was impossible to take your time looking at an artwork without being pushed over or yelled at to move ahead. Even though, they are trying to cater to all types of audiences but what they lack to consider is the fact that they are losing the authenticity in their work and just giving in to what the audience wants, when we were at the event we saw that many people didn’t really seem to care about waiting in lines, instead they chose to jump over the barriers and skip the line. Adding on, sometimes artists aren’t paid enough to showcase their work, Towell says: “If the independent artists are doing it year after year, I think [they] get tired,”, which leads to them eventually not taking part in the exhibition.
To conclude, small art galleries play a major role in influencing artwork rather than large-scale galleries, they tend to be more focused on what they present to their audience and look into the intricate details of the art. Art is more than just creating a piece sold to the highest bidder it's about making sure that the buyer is satisfied even after looking at it for decades.