Where does art end and retail begin?
Photo: Brian Forrest for Hammer Museum, Los Angeles

Where does art end and retail begin?

It’s not unusual for visitors at an art museum to wonder what an artist was thinking in creating a particular work. But a new exhibit at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York — Eckhaus Latta: Possessed — doesn’t appear to leave much room for interpretation, as pieces used in its construction are available for purchase.

So, is the exhibit art or just a pop-up shop in another setting?

“It’s less of a critique of either retail or museums and more a cross-analysis: How the two are the same or how do they differ,” Zoe Latta, co-founder of Eckhaus Latta, told The Wall Street Journal. “What is the difference between you coming to the Whitney and trying on clothes and buying them, or seeing a Warhol exhibition?”

One difference, clearly, is that patrons do not have the option of buying a Warhol painting on exhibit when they visit the Whitney or other museums.

The genesis of the exhibit from Ms. Latta and Mike Eckhaus, who are billed by the Whitney as “operating at the intersection of fashion and contemporary art,” was another show from the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles in 2016. There, the Journal reports, the two created a display that had a gift shop nearby that sold non-clothes items not included in the exhibit. In the end, the two decided a more direct connection between their fashion and commerce was needed.

The mashup of art and commerce is becoming something of a trend in retailing circles. So-called made-for-Instagram museums, or selfie factories, are temporary shows dedicated to a particular theme. In June, Target announced a collaboration with the Museum of Ice Cream on “Pint Shop,” a reimagining of the grocery store with exhibits, limited-edition ice cream flavors and tasting opportunities.

BrainTrust

"There is a bigger fusion between art and retail these days — and this is just one example of it."

Neil Saunders

Managing Director, GlobalData


"This is an art exhibit pure and simple. Artists are doing gimmicks like this because it sells their work to collectors..."

Doug Garnett

President, Protonik


"That mashup of art and commerce becoming a trend in retailing circles? Yeah, it’s called an art gallery. They’ve been around for a while."

Georganne Bender

Principal, KIZER & BENDER Speaking


Discussion Questions

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Does Eckhaus Latta: Possessed represent art or retail in your mind? What do art and retail have in common? Would retail experiences benefit from greater collaboration with the art community?

Poll

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Neil Saunders
Famed Member
5 years ago

Art is defined as “the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination.” This is something that retailers are having to do much more of in terms of displays, marketing, product design and so forth. So yes, there is a bigger fusion between art and retail these days — and this is just one example of it.

Brandon Rael
Active Member
5 years ago

This development is nothing new. If anyone has spent any time in any major art museum, the last part of a major art exhibition is always the curated merchandising experience at the end. If done properly, the commerce part of the experience will be executed in a way that makes it a natural extension of the exhibit journey, and not just another room to shop in.

Museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art have done such an outstanding job of curating experiences that compel you to buy without the pressures of going to a department or specialty stores. It’s just a last step of the exhibition.

The blending of the art and science has been part of retail, and now the move to a more experiential model only cements this fact. Retailers outside of the art and museum space should take heed, and curate experiences that will result in sales — and loyalty.

Charles Dimov
Member
5 years ago

If it sells — then the customer said YES. That’s the only thing that really matters here. However, this concept of mixing art and fashion between exhibit and store is a creative way to enhance a purchase experience. Make it an experience and shoppers will talk about it. It becomes a customer satisfaction enhancer. It probably improves sales. These are all positive endings. In fact, if this works well then the art and retail communities need to come together more frequently. If it works, do it again and again. If the customer answers YES then we have our answer.

Zel Bianco
Zel Bianco
Active Member
5 years ago

It’s all about display. When consumer products are displayed in a way that is pleasing to the eye, they can be seen by some as art. Some high-end retailers do indeed fashion themselves as museums — displaying very few items on fairly stark shelves with men in black suits watching over the merchandise. Retail is becoming art and art is becoming retail. Pop-up stores and pop-up exhibits will co-exist is my prediction.

Dr. Stephen Needel
Active Member
5 years ago

It’s art, of course, because it would be presumptuous of any of us (I think) to say it isn’t. It doesn’t mean we have to like it or patronize it or, for that matter, promote it. Art and retail have nothing in common except that the former can certainly impact the latter, either enhancing or distracting depending on what the artist does. In general there’s no advantage to collaboration except that we might have nicer looking stores.

Lyle Bunn (Ph.D. Hon)
Lyle Bunn (Ph.D. Hon)
5 years ago

It is all indulgence through which commerce is manifested. Artists are no different than the celebrities of fashion design or at times, retail management. Every profession and industry takes pages from the playbooks of others, and consumers eat it up.

Bob Amster
Trusted Member
5 years ago

The product, the store design and even specific entertainment can all be considered art; the retail part comes at the point of sale.

Doug Garnett
Active Member
5 years ago

This is an art exhibit pure and simple. Artists are doing gimmicks like this because it sells their work to collectors (under the theory that it’s a commentary on consumerism — not under the theory that it’s smart merchandising).

And I think these worlds need stay quite separate. When advertising has attempted to become art school pure, it’s been a miserable failure — neither great art nor effective advertising.

From my closeness to the world of art, what I would like to see would be retailers purchasing great work (intuitive, instinctive, emotional — not pop art) after it’s complete and with no pressure on the artist. When the two try to come together, it might be okay for retail but it’s very bad for the world of art.

Camille P. Schuster, PhD.
Member
5 years ago

Merchandising involves art. Museums include retail shops. There has always been a similarity. As retailers become more concerned with consumer experience, the similarity is likely to include more crossover.

Lee Peterson
Member
5 years ago

When were they separate? Maybe that’s the problem; too little art, too much retail (like data). Glad to see someone bring it back heavy to one side — or maybe it’s a message to retailers: there’s Amazon and Walmart, then there’s you — bring back the art in retail!

Jeff Sward
Noble Member
5 years ago

The art doesn’t end — it just sometimes ends in a transaction of some kind. Whether it’s a museum or the mall. Explore + Experiment = Experience, whether it’s a museum or the mall. I’ve made a couple of purchases in a museum in Italy. They now sit in my home office as memories of wonderful times. Mall shopping doesn’t have to rise to that level, but at a minimum ought to evoke a smile in the process.

Cynthia Holcomb
Member
5 years ago

This is the “art” of merchandising fully expressed; art created to generate the passionate interest of those moved to emotion at the intersection of art and fashion. Fashion and art are intertwined, whether on a runway or at the Whitney. Why do people spend money on trinkets leaving the museum? To remind themselves of the emotional high they experienced inspired by the intersection of art and fashion.

Georganne Bender
Noble Member
5 years ago

Store design and visual merchandising are both an art and a science. Each layout and display is meant to move the shopper to do different things on the sales floor. But that mashup of art and commerce becoming a trend in retailing circles? Yeah, it’s called an art gallery. They’ve been around for a while. 🙂

Lee Kent
Lee Kent
Member
5 years ago

Art has always been available to purchase and often what is in a museum is owned by someone. I think that’s how it works. At any rate, this concept is cool. They are making pieces of art that consumers may otherwise not be able to afford. Drawing us into an art experience then offerings something to purchase that goes beyond what the usual museum gift store offers. This is not art vs. retail. It is the retail of art. For my 2 cents.

Kenneth Leung
Active Member
5 years ago

Art and merchandise has always been mixed. Here at San Francisco Modern Art Museum, there a few art exhibits that generates output that visitors can take with them, plus of course merchandise that can be purchased. There is even a restaurant In Situ, where the menu items are reproduction of restaurant menu items from different location or era.

Christopher P. Ramey
Member
5 years ago

Moving product to “art,” and away from function has been a strategy in the luxury space for years. It’s called artification. And it transcends product to something much deeper and more profitable.