Kunstens Kapital

Jensen, Grete Marie ; Kolind, Julie Elisabeth

4. semester

Kommunikation, Kandidat

2011

2011-08-01

136 pages

Denne afhandlings sigte er at undersøge, hvordan kunst og erhvervsliv kan bibringe hinanden værdi, til trods for de to felters forskellige logikker, og dermed hvilke udfordringer der opstår, når kunst og erhvervsliv bringes sammen. Afhandlingen har en konstruktiv tilgang og er baseret på hypotesen om, at der kan finde en værdiskabelse sted. De senere års fokus på oplevelsesøkonomi har medført en interesse for kunstfeltet som en ressource, erhvervslivet kan trække på for at skabe økonomisk profit. Fra politisk hold italesættes kunstfeltet som samfundets vækstgenerator. Den økonomiske og instrumentelle tilgang til kunstneren influerer dennes rolle og betydning i samfundet. Afhandlingens resultater viser, at der er en splittelse i opfattelsen af kunstnerens rolle, der enten trækker på den modernistiske eller den postmodernistiske forståelse. Oplevelsesøkonomiens kommercialisering af kunstnerne risikerer på den ene side at udfase kunstnerens rolle som dannende og udfordrende i forhold til samfundet. På den anden side formindskes kunstnernes mulighed for at yde indflydelse uden at interagere med samfundet. Kunstfeltet står dermed i et dilemma, som er stærkt influeret af de politiske italesættelser. Til at belyse hvordan kunstnerne placerer sig i forhold til de politiske italesættelser af kunstbegrebet, og hvilke rationaler, der har indflydelse på kunstfeltet, er den franske sociolog, Pierre Bourdieus teori om felt, habitus og kapitalformer anvendt. Kunstnernes position og rolle udgør den ene del af analysen og en af hovedpointerne er her, at kunsten har mistet sin ophøjede status i det postmoderne samfund og kunstnerne er nødsaget til selv at gøre opmærksom på sin egen værdi, hvis den ikke skal absorberes af ren økonomisk nyttetænkning. Virksomhederne udgør en mulig platform, hvor kunstnerne potentielt set kan nå ud til mange, og derfor kan et samarbejde være værdiskabende uanset hvor i hierarkiet kunstnerens egen opfattelse ligger. Afhandlingen har en socialkonstruktivistisk tilgang, idet genstandsfeltet er et dynamisk og ikke stabilt område, influeret af forskelligartede logikker og synspunkter og under stadig påvirkning. Alle anvendte hovedteorier kan lægge sig op ad den socialkonstruktivistiske tilgang. Den anden del af analysen udgøres af det økonomiske felt. Virksomhederne står i en situation, hvor en stigende konkurrence nødvendiggør, at de plejer deres corporate image og tilbyder en merværdi for at differentiere sig fra konkurrenterne. Koblingen mellem de to felter har potentialer til at skabe værdi, men er langt fra ukompliceret. Mange virksomheder er skeptiske over for at skulle inddrage kunstnere i deres forretningsudvikling, fordi de to forskellige felters logikker typisk er modstridende og det kan være svært for erhvervslivet at se den økonomiske værdiskabelse. Afhandlingen undersøger derfor tre store danske virksomheder, som har tradition for at prioritere kunst og som har gode erfaringer med, hvorledes kunsten kan bibringe værdi til virksomheden og dens corporate image, uden at kunstnerens kernekompetencer tages fra kunstnerne. Her undersøges bevæggrundene for virksomhedernes prioritering af kunst, og hvordan forståelsen for og accepten af kunstens kapital er. Her er Bourdieus teori ligeledes anvendt. For at skabe en teoretisk ramme, der kan understøtte og udvide forståelsen af, hvorledes kunsten kan ses som en økonomisk værdiskabelse, anvendes teori om CSR, Corporate Social Responsibility. Med anvendelsen af CSR-teori viser afhandlingen, at CSR-tankegangen kan bygge bro mellem virksomheden og kunsten som en anderledes måde at tænke oplevelsesøkonomi på. CSR lægger sig tværs hen over virksomhedens felt og vedrører interne såvel som eksterne processer. I samspil med Mary Joe Hatch og Majken Schultz’s model The Dynamics of Organizational Identity viser afhandlingen de mange dimensioner og processer, som kunsten kan indvirke på. Kunsten kan dermed være værdiskabende indadtil såvel som udadtil i virksomheden, men afhandlingen viser også, at kun hvis kunsten anerkendes, dyrkes og implementeres i virksomheden på kunstens egne præmisser, har den potentiale til at være en brik i positioneringsspillet og blive en afgørende differentierende faktor inden for rammerne af oplevelsesøkonomien.

The aim of this thesis is to explore how art and the corporate world – two fields with differing logics – can benefit one another in spite of their differences. Consequently, this thesis will also explore the challenges that emerge, when art and the corporate world are brought together. The approach of this thesis is a constructive one, as it is founded on the hypothesis that value creation can take place. The recent years’ great focus on experience economy has prompted an interest in art as a resource for the corporate world to draw on in the pursuit to generate profit. In the political discourse, art is constructed as society’s growth generator. This economic and instrumental approach to the artist influences the artist’s role and significance in society. However, the results of this thesis show that there are disagreeing conceptions of the artist’s role, and these disagreements can be divided into a modernist conception as well as a postmodern conception. The modernist conception is based on the artist as an autonomous person whereas the postmodern conception of the artist is influenced by the experience economy. However, this conception still contains elements from the modernism. On the one hand, the experience economy’s commercialisation of the artists runs the risk of phasing out the artist’s role as a formative individual who challenges society. On the other hand, the artist’s opportunity to influence society is diminished if the artist does not interact with society. As a result, the artistic field finds itself in a dilemma; a dilemma which is heavily influenced by the political discourse. In the thesis, Pierre Bourdieu’s theories on field, habitus and capitalistic forms are applied both to elucidate how artists position themselves in relation to the politically constructed concept of art, and to shed light on the principles influencing the artistic field. The artist’s position and role constitute one of two parts of the analysis. One of this part’s main points is that the artistic field has lost its elevated status in the postmodern society, and artists are therefore forced to create awareness about their own worth if this is not to be determined and absorbed by a purely economic and utilitarian mindset. The companies’ constitute platforms from which the artists can potentially reach a large audience, and collaboration between companies and artists can therefore be productive – regardless of how the artists position themselves in the hierarchy. The thesis has a social constructionist view as the field of research is a dynamic, continuously influenced and unstable field with diverse logics and viewpoints. All main theories applied in this thesis relate to social constructionism. The second half of the analysis deals with the economic field. The companies are in a situation where increasing competition necessitates them to tend to their corporate image and create increased value in order to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Collaboration between the two fields has potential to create increased value, but it is far from uncomplicated. Many companies are sceptical about including artists in their business development, not only because of the typically contradictory logics of the two fields, but also because it is difficult for companies to see the economic value creation. For this reason, the thesis explores three larger Danish businesses, which all have traditions for prioritising art and have good experiences with art bringing value to both company and corporate image without robbing the artists of their core competences. This part of the analysis explores the companies’ motives for prioritising art, as well as how they understand and accept arts’ capital. Here Bourdieu’s theories will also be applied. In order to create a theoretical framework, which can support and extend the understanding of how art can create value, theory on CSR, Corporate Social Responsibility, is applied. By applying theory on CSR, the thesis shows that the CSR-mindset can build a bridge between the company and the art as a different way of approaching experience economy. CSR affects the entire company as it concerns internal as well as external processes. In an interplay with Mary Joe Hatch and Majken Schultz’s model The Dynamics of Organisational Identity, the thesis elucidates the many dimensions and processes art can affect. Consequently, art can create value for companies internationally as well as externally. However, the thesis also points out certain preconditions for this value creation: Only if art is acknowledged, cultivated and implemented in the company on its own terms, can art be a potential pawn in the positioning-game and, furthermore, be a decisive and differentiating factor within the framework of the experience economy.

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