How can artists and intermediaries who deny the economy make a living? Some evidently do. Anti-market behavior can be profitable. Sometimes, the more anti-commercial artists and intermediaries present themselves, the higher their status and incomes are. Such a-commercial attitudes don’t follow from a strategy. Artists behave a-commercially because they are artists. In the course of the history of the artistic profession this type of behavior became part of the artist’s ‘character’. Artists have learned to play ‘games’ in two spheres. That is how they earn a living.

Any game requires knowledge of the rules and subtleties of the game. Although this is often denied, profits can be made or prizes can be won in both market games and non-commercial games. Moreover, all these games have an internal logic. Therefore, as has been noted earlier, economies can be said to exist in- and outside the market.
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Is giving more honorable than trading? And if so, why? Why does the gift sphere represent high values and the market low values? Lets find out more about arts which is giving that not meant to be sold.

Both gift giving and market exchange are voluntary and they imply reciprocity; some kind of return is involved. Nevertheless, in market transactions the quid pro quo is more important. Here there’s usually a stronger focus on returns and anticipation of returns and there is generally more certainty about returns. A larger part of returns is covered by a form of contract and can, if necessary, be legally monitored.
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Society either harbors beliefs about art that contribute to the fact that it is perceived as sacred, or such beliefs follow from art’s sacredness.

These widely shared beliefs can also be called myths, because people don’t believe that they need verification. They depend on one another, but they are not always consistent. People in the art world tend to resolve discrepancies in order to keep the myths intact.
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A work of art and its maker are said to be authentic. In a formal sense, they are authentic if the artist in question is the only one who could have made the particular work of art.

A unique fingerprint of the artist somehow manages to creep into the work of art, its style, the signature or some other quality. In expressionist works of art the personal touch is very visible; people ‘recognize’ the artist in the work of art. In other works of art this quality remains more hidden; in fact, so much so that sometimes only the artist’s signature can be verified as genuine.
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Not defining the subject matter can be tricky. After all, economists discussing art always have an implicit notion of what art is and isn’t in the back of their minds, and this notion necessarily influences their findings. For instance, in many studies on the economy of the arts no attention is paid to pop music, while the reasons for this oversight are unclear. Is it because pop music isn’t art, or are there other reasons?

We want to believe that works of art are products that have intrinsic qualities that ultimately turn them into art. Certain forms of music and painting are art, others are not. Hence the heated discussions. Evidently, contradicting views exist on what art is, and this does not help in the construction of a timeless definition of art.
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