Philadelphia Market of Arts
cRITIC
Eduardo Rega
TEAM
Jessica Wong, Lucy Zhong, Myo Hang, Yubang Wu
PROJECT STATEMENT
Our pavilion is representative of a market/auction house that is intended to critique and analyze the effects of capitalism on the art field, particularly art institutions and museums. Museum leadership and board of trustee members consist of some of the wealthiest elites who treat these cultural establishments as a means of capital gain and neglect their roles as community advocates, which has resulted in the neglection of the true benefits and beauties of art and sparked social conflicts and injustices.
In many cases, art has become a good to be sold and traded and its “beauty” has become determined by a monetary value. As a result, genuine creativity stagnates at the hands of commodification and is further detached from the emotional attributes that art has the power to invoke.
The pavilion aims to highlight this critique through a shell-like structure that encloses the audience to simulate an auction where the capitalistic motivations of buying and selling art contribute to the deterioration and devaluing of art institutions.
The organic arms branching off the shell are covered with micro-bundles of information that illustrate the art of consumerism that takes place under the umbrella of these institutions. Not only has art itself become an inflated commodity whose value is determined by the wealthy, but some of these institutional “leaders” are evidently linked to scandals and injustices that further lessen the quality of museums. The pavilion is intended to expose and shed light on the effects of the commercialized exchange and trading of art.
Our pavilion is representative of a market/auction house that is intended to critique and analyze the effects of capitalism on the art field, particularly art institutions and museums. Museum leadership and board of trustee members consist of some of the wealthiest elites who treat these cultural establishments as a means of capital gain rather than an inclusive gathering space to celebrate and appreciate the many benefits and beauties in art.
