LINKS - COBCOE

4
There’s only
one London
airport within
10 miles of
Big Ben
Events and meeting space from
COBCOE in association with
�
If you are visiting London and need a place to
hold your meetings, dine or entertain guests,
organise business and social events in an elegant
environment, along with a reasonably priced place
to stay, then you can do all these by becoming a
member of COBCOE’S business partner,
the Connections Business Club.
For further details and to join please contact
Corinne Stuart on +44 (0)20 7451 5837
or email cstuart@connectionsattrafalgarsquare.com
photo: www.howardbrundrett.com
cobcoe news
Art, Business and Money
Symposium 2011
“How do you value art?”
At the BSCC/COBCOE’s third “Art,
Business & Money” symposium in Basel,
art world celebrities discussed the social and human
value of art, as well as its monetary valuation. Those attending
represented the financial world, universities, galleries,
dealerships, and included a number of up-and-coming artists.
The symposium attracted a distinguished panel of experts:
Abigail Reynolds, British contemporary artist and lecturer;
Professor Rachel Pownall-Campbell of the School of Business
and Economics at Maastricht University; and Alexander Bieri,
curator of the Roche Historical Collection in Basel. The event
was moderated by Fiammetta Rocco, Books and Arts Editor
of The Economist and co-author of The Economist’s recent
special report on the art market.
Whereas the artist, dealer and curator may have different
perspectives on the monetary value of art, all the panelists
concurred that the importance of the subjective value of a
work of art for the creator or collector far outweighs the
financial valuation. Artist Abigail Reynolds stressed how
intensely personal the act of creating and buying art can be.
In her experience, the artist has a specific vision, rather than
a monetary value in mind.
This discussion
took place in
light of a thoughtp
r o v o k i n g
overview of the
development of
the art market
as an investment
class. Professor
Rachel Pownall-
Campbell discussed
correlations between pricing and world events, stock markets,
the weather and art auctions. In addition, she touched on
the elements that may give art financial value, such as the
financial track record of an artist’s work and its influence in
the art world.
Curator Alexander Bieri traced the role of art in the
development of Roche, and its importance for branding and
staff retention. Over the years, Roche employees have been
confronted by stimulating art and architecture on a daily
basis. Roche’s art collection comprises some 6,500 pieces.
Although destined for a corporate setting, Mr Bieri confirmed
that art commissioned and purchased for Roche was by no
means based on purely rational or financial decisions. In the
case of Roche, parallels were drawn between art and the
pharmaceutical industry, since both rely on highly creative
people.
Moderator Fiammetta Rocco traced the development of the
art market and commented on how new media impacts
the viewing of art, the nature of auctions, and ultimately
valuations. Technology was generally seen as a facilitator and
enabler for the sharing of art, rather than as a threat. Many
artists have developed smart strategies to adopt technology
for their own creative and marketing benefit.
The fourth annual BSCC/COBCOE “Art, Business & Money”
symposium will take place once again on the second day of
Art Basel next year, on 14th June 2012, at the Ramada Plaza
hotel in Basel. Save the date in your diary!