How practices that enact the art of constructing open secrets in markets can be mobilized to unfold magic making.
What is magic? And what can it do? In this book, Jessica Backsell interrogates the magic of the art world and culture's stubborn habit of foregrounding art as representative of an alternative value system. Through the empirical example of the freeport—luxury warehouses where valuable art is stored for preservation and taxation purposes—Backsell explores the implications of understanding the art world through contingent entanglements and practices. Examining the contested site of the freeport, Backsell addresses the dichotomous "culture v. capitalism" debate by showing how magic is not an innate and mysterious quality. Rather, it is a practice, a central yet unexplored element of curatorial toolboxes, that unfolds through what Backsell denotes as the enactment of "conspicuous withdrawal." This insight, she argues, sheds new light and understanding on broader political issues in contemporary market society.
"Dr. Backsell's book investigates the complex dynamics between concealment and revelation in ways that make the work relevant beyond the case of freeports. A must-read for anyone interested in understanding the contemporary world of art but also of politics and markets."
— Paolo Quattrone, Professor of Accounting, Governance, and Society Alliance Manchester Business School
"When
Marcel Duchamp conceived 'non-retinal art,' he likely did not envision paintings blocked from sight, buried in bombproof bunkers, sacrificed to rapacious market-gods. When
Yves Klein sold receipts for an 'immaterial zone' in exchange for gold, he preemptively mocked today's special economic zones. Backsell's freeport book is for our times!"
— Reilly Smethurst, Research Fellow Politecnico di Milano
Jessica Backsell teaches matters of spatial and legal construction of markets at Stockholm School of Economics. She explores the organization of markets from a practice perspective, drawing upon theories from both classical anthropology and postmodern philosophy. She also takes part in spurring dialogues between artists and intellectuals through her engagement in SSE Art Initiative.
