FRAKCIJA #68/69: Art & Money

At least since the last economic crisis, and the so-called austerity measures which have mercilessly hit public finances (and in this part of the world artistic production is mainly financed by public funds), the issue of money gained stronger presence in the artistic sphere. It seems that the field of artistic production has finally been sensitized to social conditions which it demands and reproduces by its work. However it stays questionable, to say the least, whether we are dealing with an actual systemic critical reflection at the same time. Thus it is necessary to take a closer look at artworks which reflect this, until fairly recently, vulgar theme, and discourses which surround it and push it into circulation. We ask ourselves a simple question: how can art help us understand the social function of money? Does it offer us a special approach, pointing to a potential lack in economic and sociological analysis, or what we are dealing with here is a basic aestheticization of analytical insights by, so to speak, visual ornaments?

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