Description
Book SynopsisIn the 1960s, multinational corporations faced new image problemsand turned to the art world for some unexpected solutions. The 1960s saw artists and multinational corporations exploring new ways to use art for commercial gain. Whereas many art historical accounts of this period privilege radical artistic practices that seem to oppose the dominant values of capitalism, Alex J. Taylor instead reveals an art world deeply immersed in the imperatives of big business. From Andy Warhol's work for packaged goods manufacturers to Richard Serra's involvement with the steel industry, Taylor demonstrates how major artists of the period provided brands with forms of persuasion that bolstered corporate power, prestige, and profit. Drawing on extensive original research conducted in artist, gallery, and corporate archives, Taylor recovers a flourishing field of promotional initiatives that saw artists, advertising creatives, and executives working around the same tables. As museums continue t
Trade Review"
Forms of Persuasion is a well-researched, revealing account of how avant-garde art and design filled the ‘fishbowl foyers’ of Midtown Manhattan, the imaginations of board members and the pockets of a lucky few artists. . . . This sophisticated new kind of sales pitch, Mr. Taylor argues, helped secure the global dominance of the American corporation."
* Wall Street Journal *
"Sheds light on the mechanisms by which contemporary visual art elevated corporate image. . . . Taylor’s methodology is a worthy model for art historians interested in post–WW II corporate art partnerships that provided cultural capital, enhanced overall images, and international appeal. They were precursors to today’s ubiquitous corporate branding intertwined with a thoroughly commodified art world." * CHOICE *
Table of ContentsContents
Acknowledgments
Introduction: The Culture Sell
PART 1: REPACKAGING POP
1. Trademarking Campbell’s Soup
2. Container Corporation’s Art Direction
3. The Bold New Taste of Philip Morris
PART 2: ABSTRACTION AT WORK
4. Chase Manhattan’s Executive Vision
5. A Passport for Peter Stuyvesant
PART 3: MARKETING MATERIALS
6. Modernizing Italsider
7. The Rusting Face of U.S. Steel
8. Collapse at Kaiser Steel
Conclusion: Conceptualizing Corporate
Sponsorship
List of Abbreviations
Notes
List of Illustrations
Index
