Gordon Parks, Untitled Fashion Photograph, c. 1960s
DAY 14 Today is Monday, June 20,th and we are studying the twenty-first century phenomenon of art investment funds.
Our particular case study is the Tosca Photography Fund, for which you have the 2010 annual report. But also check out
the chapter from Horowitz on Art Investment Funds (and the accompanying appendix). In your response to the reading,
imagine/design your own art investment fund with sample work (s) and strategies.
Readings
Art of the Deal: Chapter 3
ARTH 4696 FINLEY Art Investment Funds HOROWITZ.pdf
Art of the Deal: Appendix C
ARTH 4696 FINLEY Appendix C Art Investment Fund Universe HOROWITZ.pdf
Tosca Photography Fund Year End Report
Tosca Photography 2011 fund review.pdf
Individual Contributions
Vincent Anthony Falkiewicz
Erica Gilbert-Levin
Management: Moondance, Inc. Los Angeles, California
Name of Fund: StART
Investment Details: Target: USD 10m; Minimum: 5m; Term: 5 years
Fund Overview: Launched January 2009. Late 20th-century/early 21st-century street art
Fund Description, Fees: Most investments between USD 10,000-80,000. Active management. 2% annual performance fee; no management fee.
Website: www.startart.com
Status: Valued at USD 5m in August 2010. Approximately 100 investor entities.
A small but rapidly-growing and up-and-coming fund, StART features four collections of bold, in-your-face, unique works from both established and emerging street artists around the world. StART was founded in early 2009 by a collaboration of anonymous art entrepreneurs and seeks to bring the most exciting new development in the art world into the market.
The collections:
"Brave New World." Consists of nearly 1,000 paintings and collages by young artists whose works had gone virtually unrecognized in the art world until recently. In the past year, the valuation of the works in this collection has seen exuberant growth, tripling from USD 5,000 to 15,000 in the last market year. Artists include Retna, Stickman, Elbowtoe, and War Boutique, an urban artist who has worked with the likes of Banksy.
"Under the Bridge." Consists of a mind-blowing 20,000 pieces, including rare sketches by Jean-Michel Basquiat and replicas of Keith Haring's famous subway drawings. Other street artists include Judith Supine, and Swoon. The oft-controversial, edge-pushing works straight from the street have charged the market in the last year, accumulating an estimated valuation of USD 5m. Numerous symposia, interviews, and even museum exhibitions have enhanced the profile of street art, resulting in rapid growth for StART.
Works in these collections include:
By Haring
By Basquiat
By Judith Supine
By Swoon
By Retna
By Stickman
Kimberly Ann Phoenix
Have to say that I feel totally inept at creating a fund. But from the reading I would think that you would need to diversify. Just like a conventional fund, you would need some solid artist with proven track records while investing in some new up and coming artist. I did a little research on photographers just because I have taken some classes in photography and feel I can very amateurishly evaluate the work, Dorothea Lange would be a good base. Her work is thoughtful and passionate, with a historic tone that in the future would maybe bring in a higher value. A rising star would be Claire Rosen, her approach in fine art and fashion could be very marketable, being able to buy her works at a lower price now and hope that the value goes up as more of her work is shown.
http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/lange/index.html
http://blog.sofistafunk.com/2010/09/sf-meets-claire-rosen.html
Photo by Dorothea Lange from historyplace.com
Photo by Claire Rosen from blog.sofisafunk.com
Consider & comment:
What did you think of today's readings and wiki features? What issues if any did they raise for you? How did the audio visual material provided support your understanding of this topic? Comment on your classmates' posts. Leave your comments in the box below.