FROM WORK TO FRAME_

From work to frame: World, Structure, Market, Industry, Discourse, Institution, Network and other systems of legitimation.

The space in which art is held may take a physical form, such as a gallery, catwalk or urban environment, but the space is conceptual.  It plays a crucial role in defining or legitimising artwork as an artwork. These spaces are contexts and social conventions that render different effects upon particular objects, therefore establishing their meaning and significance. A bed at home, perhaps perceived in its 'natural' environment, is simply a bed. But when displayed in a gallery, it potentially take on a different identity and are therefore valued very differently. So perhaps artwork created in a studio space is never fully artwork until it has been exhibited somewhere for the benefit of the public. 'What is the context that allows art to be defined as art?' Typically, the gallery or museum seem like the natural destination for artworks. The gallery/museum is an invention that is relatively historically recent. During the 18th and 19th centuries, our modern galleries such as the Louvre (1793), The National Gallery (1824) and the Victoria and Albert Museum (1852), began to emerge. However, it has become evident since the late 1960s that the gallery is not the only place where art can be displayed, with artists exploring alternative locations and formats in order to reimagine how artworks can be presented.

Within the fashion industry, designers are exploring alternative ways to present their work. A place relevant to their collection, they may chose more urban environment or a less 'classic' approach, such as carparks, airports or shopping centres. A recent example is Karl Lagerfeld's SS14 collection that was held in a supermarket, to suggest the idea of mass consumerism. The purpose of these increasingly performance shows is to facilitate an audience- physical or through film/internet.

So is it the place the art is presented what makes it art? Haute couture is often perceived as art, but if ready to wear high street collections were placed in a gallery, would people value these differently to the fast, cheap, fashion industry? Designers collaborate with artists to bring them closer to the art world, to draw a different, more refined audience. However, brands like H&M collaborate with designers and celebrities (such as Isabel Marant and Beyonce) to attract a wider, perhaps more 'mainstream' audience. On a different spectrum, designers such as Comme des Garçons have introduced concept shops, situated within areas of art galleries. It appears more of an instillation, making the clothes appear more 'art' like. 

Where and how work is presented is an important part of demonstrating how of the creator perceives their work and how they want it to be viewed. The studio space might be where the artwork originates, but a lot happens after that moment that will have a large share in defining the artwork. Artworks may have no intrinsic or essential value as such, and their definitional identity as artworks might not even be innate. There might be nothing within an artwork that defines it as an artwork or of a particular value, instead they come to possess such identities and value through social and institutional agreement. However, artists and artworks are not powerless. An institution may define what counts as art or what type of art it considers valuable, but artworks can provoke such institutions to redefine what they count as art and challenge its systems of legitimation.