The Pure Taste Indicator: A new reference model for the art world
Following the sequence of the last articles, Im describing here how would be the mechanism to appreciate and value art based on a new paradigm and this is the quality of the work of an artist. The current paradigm considers the fame, prestige, merits, and validation of the artist and its name, that’s why is so susceptible to manipulation, speculation, corruption, etc. The Pure Taste Indicator is free of these variable because consider the work and not the fame, the person, or the name.
There is a current paradigm that is widely used to measure the quality of the work of an artist: fame. The fame of the museums where the artist has shown their work, the fame of the curators who have selected their work, the fame of the collectors that collect their works or the fame of the collections to which the works of the artist belong. Research has found that fame is, in fact, not a reliable reference system, because is very susceptible to corruption, speculation, traffic of influences, convenient friendships, among other factors:
„Almost one-third of solo shows in US museums go to artists represented by just five galleries“
So, how to measure the quality and relevance of the work of a visual artist without including fame in the formula? In our research, we found that the first step was to create a new paradigm. This new paradigm refers to the levels of relevance and quality of the work of an artist, based on the knowledge of art and the taste (“the educated eye”) of representative groups of the art World.
The Pure Taste Indicator (PTI) is a reference model which measures the relevance and quality of the work of a visual artist. It represents the conjunction of knowledge in art and the taste (“The Educated Eye”) of a representative number of players in the art world. This is a complete change of paradigm in contrast with the current one, which is based on fame. The Pure Taste Indicator is free of the variables affecting the current one, as it is based on a democratic process informed by PARECON ( participatory economics) , referendums and demarchy. This represents the taste of and knowledge in arts of the three groups who compose the art world: artists, art lovers, and the institution. These groups make up the so-called AMARC , also known under the full name of the Art Market Regulation Commission.
There are two types of PTI assessments, which determines how the evaluators are selected. If using the referendum model, it is open to all evaluators of the AMARC . If using the demarchy model, the selection process is based on a lottery-like scheme that randomly selects the evaluators. There are three levels of evaluators in AMARC , all based and calculated on their experience and knowledge in art: Regular, Top and Expert. Currently, the system only recognizes the first two levels, Regular and Top. However, in the future Experts will, of course, be included and an automatic system will evaluate and move the evaluators from one level to Another.
The mechanism to calculate the PTI of an artist has the following procedure:
1) A notification is sent to the AMARC, requesting a call to carry out a ”Pure Taste Indicator referendum for an artist”
2)Validation of the artist’s information (A representative of the AMARC will check if there is enough valid information of the artist to carry out an evaluation)
3) The PTI system makes a random selection of ten people from each group of the members of AMARC : artists, art lovers, and the institution, a total of 30 people will evaluate the work of an artist. (This process is called demarchy or Sortition. The list of the evaluators will remain unpublished until a decision is made)
4) Every person selected for the process will receive an email with a unique link containing the information of the artist and a link to execute the evaluation. Each evaluator will evaluate according to their knowledge and taste in art (“the educated eye”) in the following four parameters relating to the artist’s work:
a) Concept
b) Work
c) Art world transcendence
d) Social value and transcendence
5) Calculation of the Pure Taste Indicator and Cap-price of Artworks. (A notification is sent to the artist, evaluators and to the AMARC which will publish the result and the list of evaluators online)
One of the characteristics of the PTI that is noteworthy is that it has a great range between the minimum (1.00) and the maximum (100.00) value, including two decimal places. This makes, in contrast with the actual reference model based on fame, the distribution of opportunities and resources more homogeneous, thus there is less concentration on the extremes.
By using this alternative reference system, new and fresh principles can be introduced to the art market, including but not limited to:
● Elimination of hidden variables 7 of the current system of the art world
● A bigger number of people who can influence the decisions of what the current and
future generations will consider what art is and will define the art world
● Discovering new values in the art world
● A fairer distribution of money and opportunities for the art world
It is very problematic that the current art world is so attached to the art market, and because of that, it is becoming urgent to separate one from the other. Further to this, is problematic that the high value of a work is based on the fame of the artist who produces it. It is becoming more and more pressing that we need to reconsider how we define good art, bad art, or even what is art and what isn’t art. The interests of a select group of people are surpassing our need for transparency. That it is necessary to propose and build new models that will help us reconsider and examine the current system.
The original idea and formulas have been created by new media artist and activist David Hinojosa Admann (DHAdmann) www.dhadmann.com
The Pure Taste Indicator can be visited at https://odbk.tk/cap-price-referendums/
