The Color of Flamenco, The Passion of ARCO

The ARCO Art Fair (3~18 February 2008, Madrid, Spain) welcomed audiences with the revised look and diverse programs of its 27th event. Gallery booth space had been nearly doubled since the previous year, and the art fair hosted programs for the Guest of Honor country, plus special media exhibitions, performances, solo projects, and a series of forums to discuss the relationship between contemporary art and the art market that were held every hour throughout the event. ARCO used to be dominated by domestic galleries, but this year, hoping to acquire the status of a global art fair, showcased a wider range of artworks and artists, by inviting displays from many new, foreign galleries. ‘Art’ brings you to the lively venue of the art fair.

The art fair, first started in 1982, and held every February, was staged this year in Juan Herreros’ new exhibition hall. This 27th ARCO ran from the 13th through to the 18th, with 34 countries participating in 295 galleries, and attracted a total number of 200,000 visitors.? In addition to gallery booths, a variety of events were organized including Guest of Honor events for Brazil, curator programs, media special exhibitions, performances, and academic forums. ARCO is more than an annual art market. It is a grand art festival and an important element in the cultural pride of Spain.

“National Festival” of Spain

ARCO is distinct from general art fairs that focus on the buying and selling of art works. The event was founded with to the aim of restoring pride in Spanish art, a legacy from the Renaissance era. The Spanish period that produced Velazquez, Goya, Picasso, Dali, and Miro, evoked the genius ideas, passionate artistic sensibility and madness that are part of Spanish identity. Every summer, art students around the world flock to the Museo del Prado to appreciate Velazquez’s Las Meninas, and to the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia to eyewitness Picasso’s Guernica. Spanish art has deep roots; however, it has not produced ‘celebrity artists’ recently, unlike France, post-war America, and Germany, whose art, with its strong conceptual traditions have dominated. In order to gain global recognition for Spanish art, the Spanish government took the initiative of establishing the ARCO Art Fair in 1982.
During the event, the whole city of Madrid is in a festive mood. Near the venues ? from the main ARCO hall near the airport, to downtown galleries various events take place, and these last well into the night. ‘Spanish Night’ sees Flamenco in full swing.

Flamenco, which has its origin in the gypsy culture that flourished in Andalucia, consists of sentimental melodies, rhythmic hand clapping and foot stamping, and stylized dance moves to become a complete performance. It has been a much-loved subject for such painters as Goya and Picasso. I have also felt its sentimental melody tugging my heartstrings, and spent two nights watching Flamenco during the five-day trip. On the second day, I ran into the “Spanish Night” at the Sofia National Museum by chance. It was an important event that redefined Flamenco as a unique element in Spanish culture. The exhibition was rich with paintings, photographs, garments, relevant documents, movies and screen images of both traditional and contemporary Flamenco.

Assessing ARCO 2008

While Arco 2007 was focused primarily on Guest of Honor events for Korea, this year’s event was rich with diverse programs. According to the gallery owners, sales dipped slightly from the previous year. However, the ARCO Committee projected that sales will be approximately the same although the complete figures are unavailable yet. Domestic institutes contributed substantially to the outcome of the art fair through the following investments: Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia (EUR 116.4 million), Arco Foundation (EUR 0.25 million), Coca-Cola Foundation (EUR 0.12 million), and MUSAC (EUR 0.31 million).
Purchases of Korean organizations are one of the reason for stable success of Arko. Regional Organizations such as Reina Sofia (1 million 164 thousand euro), Arko Founation (250 thousand euro), Coca Cola Foundation (120 thousand euro) and MUSAC (312 thousand euro) made purchases. It shows how interested Spain government and organizations are about Arko and Art.

According to “Art Price”, between 2001 and 2007 the sales of contemporary artworks? grew by 233%, and those of the overall art market grew by152%? However, the art market is undergoing a transition. Due to the increasing influence of the Internet, collectors obtain detailed information about artists and prices before they purchase. In addition, development of photography and other media has diversified the market, which gives a wider range of choice to collectors in terms of price. Expert Richard Polsky commented that ‘the best investment for investors and collectors is to buy [the] compact yet valuable pieces of young, up-and-coming artists. Whether the art market is experiencing boom or bubble, these artworks yield relatively high investment profit.’