I came across this piece of satirical gold
the other day and while it could be retail’s version of Portlandia, it got me
thinking about the ideas behind it. I have always maintained that art needs to
look at the retail sector in much more detail and realize that what is
happening in retail now will be happening in art galleries in three to five years
time. For example, we all know that physical shops are a species in decline and
retail is going through a Darwinian style evolution which will result in online
‘experiences’ that will mimic the bricks and mortar encounter.
We also know that galleries are closing in
waves due to a combination of consecutive years of economic downturn, reduced
investment in art and a more restrained collecting mentality. Whereas retail
has shifted and adapted to the market, commercial art still seems to be stuck
in a Queen Street fantasy, thinking that the market will hop in their
German made cars and come to them. While this is still mostly true, what
commercial art isn’t addressing and Freedom Furniture is, is that in five to
ten years the collector will be a different species that has been raised on a
diet of accessibility, availability and visibility.
So scorn as much as you like (or laugh,
because it is brilliant), but Freedom Furniture knows that their future market will be the ‘hipsters’ and they must speak their language, understand their
psychology and most importantly come to them. Commercial galleries need to study their future buyers, start to foster a collecting culture amongst
them and take the gallery experience to them; be it physical, online, pop-up,
pop-down or pop-corn, whatever it takes to engage with the next generation of
collectors.
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