This master’s thesis examines the relationship between art, consumerism, and market logic
through the case study of the performing arts auction house FORSALE. The research is
grounded in the unusual auction of the theatre performance Ich kann nicht anders (IKNA) by
the collective Beton Ltd., during which both material and immaterial elements of the
performance—including silence, time, and collectivity—were offered for sale. The central
research problem focuses on what happens to theatre when it becomes a commodity and how
this process transforms the roles of spectators, artists, and owners. The main objective of the
thesis is to analyse, from an anthropological and sociological perspective, the mechanisms of
commodification in theatre and to explore how market logic affects the valuation of art.
Particular attention is given to the social profile of potential buyers and audiences, drawing on
Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of taste, habitus, and cultural capital. Methodologically, the thesis
adopts an interdisciplinary approach combining sociology, anthropology, and philosophy. It
employs qualitative research methods, including the analysis of scientific and professional
literature, discourse analysis of primary and secondary sources, as well as deductive and
synthetic methods. The key findings indicate that the FORSALE project radically opens up
questions of ownership, value, and responsibility in the arts, exposing tensions between the
autonomy of artistic production and market mechanisms. At the same time, the analysis
confirms that access to such forms of cultural consumption remains strongly conditioned by
social class.
|
