Prada and the art of patronage

This chapter is an updated and revised version of an article initially published in the journal Fashion Theory. The chapter examines the relationship between luxury brands and the arts through an analysis of Prada’s patronage of avant-garde artists such as Tom Sachs, Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset, Carsten Höller and architects such as Rem Koolhaas. The proposition that global corporate identity has increasingly become linked with artistic creativity is tested in relation to Pierre Bourdieu’s writings about social distinction (1984) and his analysis of the ‘field’ of cultural production (1993). The above is part of a body of work including conference papers and articles analysing the shifting boundaries of the art world where the interrelationship between private collections, public museums, commercial galleries and auction houses has become increasingly complex. The focus is on patronage as constituting an elaborate network of alliances linking cultural, commercial and political interests across a range of industry sectors. Related articles published from April 2008 onwards include: Ryan, N. (2012) ‘The New Medici: Mediating Luxury through Art’, Writing Visual Culture, University of Hertfordshire (forthcoming). Ryan, N. (2010) ‘From New York to the Congo via Marfa: Branded Occupation’, OCCUPATION: Negotiations with Constructed Space, publication of conference proceedings. Brighton University, 2nd-4th July. http://artsresearch.brighton.ac.uk/research/centre/office-for-spatial-research/projects/project-and-conference-archive/occupation/conference-papers/39_Nicky%20Ryan_From%20New%20York%20to%20the%20Congo%20via% Ryan, N. (2009) ‘Patronising Prada’, in Monika Parrinder and Colin Davies (eds.) Limited language: Rewriting Design, Basel: Birkhäuser, pp. 33-40