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Richard Halonen is what one is
called in English an " art dealer ", that is to say a merchant of art, a
supplier of fashion and value in art.
A short definition more specific as
“ dealer ” which is a word resounding hard out of French-speaking culture.
It corresponds harshly to this man who does not have this recognition of a
" dealer of art ", as a trafficker stripped of scruples. Moreover, his
activity greatly exceeds the simple role of a merchant.
From a professional and cultural point
of view, one feels that Richard seized his start with a social dimension
of art and artists, but also without any doubt that of the true merchant
of art.
His education starts with
social and societal aspects of art. Studying sociology with a " major in
art", his vision of a sociology of art was " a documentary prospect
which made it possible to work for the promotion of art, the artists and
the society. " Indeed, he enters his course on the practical
application of art from a global view which concerns people sensitive to
art.
His point of view is simple. Having tackled sociological questions of
art, he states “ art is useful for society, its place, its role ". To
some extent he wants to raise the opposite question : " in what way is a
society useful to art ? ". Therefore, he undertook specialized studies
of art such as " Art and the Law " which in particular enabled him to
create the ArtBanque Gallery, one of the first public art gallery’s in
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
He is then a promoter of
art, and reinvents with his manner the trade of galerist, starting from a
“ stable of artists ” as a " promoter of art and artists ", he most
precisely indicates his trade, his engagement, his career. He states that
society can be very useful for art.
Richard had the idea to
contact and to propose to the major corporations of his native city.
Companies like Pillsbury, Apple, 3M, Dayton-Hudson, Cargill to name a few.
They could purchase art through leasing, rental or purchase plans and he
advised them on what the law could allow based on their budgets. He became
recognized as a corporate art advisor
He says
"Certain presidents like Bush, Ronald Reagan and
other republican presidents removed this kind of provisions systematically
whereas Kennedy and the other democrats helped much the promotion of art
and the American culture ". When he was a student in the city
of San Francisco - and involved in the work of art administration, he was
assigned an internship catastrophy which was paramount at the time :
" There
was then a governor of California named Ronald Reagan who cut the majority
of the public funding to many important Californian artistic programs ! "
These tax cuts consequently
seemed impracticle which led to the need for emergency funding from the
California Art Counsel (CAC), the National Endowment of Art (NEA) which
Richard worked for as the administrative director of the Haight-Ashbury
Arts Workshop.
Richard later changed
universities to a business major in art at the College of Saint Thomas in
Saint Paul, Minnesota. From a curious destiny, he entered a Jesuit school
(USF) very involved in his activity in the life of a very active Haight
Ashbury District, the home of artists'workshops, recording studios,
galleries, theatres, radio-television and educational programs and
specialized outreach programs, it was this social work of art which led
him to Saint Thomas.
He undertook the work of
maintaining the Haight Ashbury Arts Workshop, which was out of the hippy
culture, which was then popular in the sixties. Musical celebrities such as
the Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Frank Zappa, Miles Davis etc.
helped to support all sorts of creative public art activity at the
workshop.
Definitely, Richard did not
feel he was made for a career in sociology.
However, his initial
disciplinary choice corresponds to a " direction of social and societal" anchored in him, that one inevitably does not expect to meet in a business
man :
" Sociology
is good to know if one works with it. But when I arrived at higher
education, I realized that business was probably the best thing that I
could do. "
Richard’s sympathetic manner of considering things is not a question of
what to do, but for a necessity of money, he lives from art to make his
life " the best possible one ".
" Today, the market of art is very strong.
Auction houses such as Sotheby's, Christie's, Drouot, etc., bring back
millions without stop but this is only a reflection of leasure class
society. It does not reflect the contemporary artist market.
I am not particularly interested by these sales. There is a role of art
dealer contrary to " which has the most money here ? " which resembles a
money play, a bet on the horses. These people are really not always
intelligent. They do not know why they act, but they are happy. There is a
large difference between "the opportunist" and "the entrepreneur" which
helps the artists. This last fact a noble work.
In a certain way, the business of
art creates the market of art and supports many people. Art documents the
history and societies. "
Returning to his home town of
Minneapolis 1,
to look further into the subject of the " business of art " in a program of
Masters of Business Administration (MBA). From a marketing and public relations
point of view. However, specialized programs, specifically designed to promote
the business of Fine art were to a degree in their infancy at this time. Richard
was a pioneer in this subject.
" It was at that time that I
created the ArtBanque gallery, in classroom studies. I did not have much money
at that time (I still don’t) ! However, I wanted to create a very large
gallery. "
A very large gallery, but also a
very unusual gallery : a gallery without walls. It was called ArtBanque, a
concept which corresponds to something which can appear surrealistic. This was
the project which we mentioned above, a company which held account of the
possibilities of deductions of taxes for the companies and a method to support
positive pure culture in the society.
Richard Halonen set out to
canvass the corporate art world of Minneapolis, with tools of communication and
exceptional artworks. He made a booklet printed on paper and hand-colored (photo) !
Almost romantic about the
promotion of art that within a few years, hundreds of companies were concerned
with these art acquisitions. Quickly, the companies could choose works using a
catalogue on CD-Rom, his organization was growing.
Note : the American context must
be understood for its difference but it is necessary to recall that the
possibilities of time are related to a political and economic environment.
" And the error which I perhaps
made then, it is that the "gallery without walls" created "galleries with walls"[ note : five vast galleries in Minneapolis ].
Between 1980 and 1990, he
produced more than two hundred exhibitions.
Each one required a catalogue and
constant expenses of publicity. The majority of the artists did
not sell a lot. But some did very well. In short, his activity of
galerist became increasingly important.
People worked for me. Around
fifty in 1990, when I had to close the gallery due to the problems associated
with the crisis of the war of the Gulf.
AR : Did the war affect the art market ?
- I know it did ! Galleries went
out of business all across the country.
AR : Why, how ?
- Because I had one of the largest galleries in
America at that time.
In any case, certainly the largest in Minneapolis.
And when the war of the Gulf started, everyone became very nervous,
anxious and the market dropped. Needless to say I was forced to close my
gallery.
During the first war in Iraq, it was similar but I think that this time,
the market of art is more established. It does not allow the war members
to kill the art market. The art market is more established and more
tested today.
But war has effects on all kinds of financial markets. Even in Paris,
hotels, tourism, etc.
The war killed the contemporary
art market !
I did not believe in filing
bankruptcy.
In America, it is possible to file papers for bankruptcy and one
does not have to refund the debts immediately. But if all people who helped you
are your best friends, your family 2,
you do not do that ! I did not do it and will never would ! But I had to close
the gallery.
Having amassed a large collection
of art, I directed myself towards the liquidation of my collections through a
worldwide network.
Through the war, that developed very quickly I found a new
start in Europe. I developed Richard Halonen Fine
Art Ltd. It is always the concept with which I work. I have been a corporation,
a company and I work as a free agent.
I became a private art
consultant, an artistic expert providing insurances evaluations, conservation
and working with private sales. "
Wearing many hats, he started
writing expert reports in Paris on behalf of the Renoir family. He has been
developping and working on exhibitions, like the current
Botticelli exhibition which now travels to Florence, or others in the
Tate Britain
and elsewhere.
Richard discovers masterpieces
and works with the contemporary and helps museums and private collectors to
locate great pieces.
A question arises :
why is working with art so important and what is the true nature of art ?
From Richard’s point of view, it
is necessary to understand his term of “ a sociology of art ”.
Art is a very complex subject in
the French sociological school and Richard has been doing research on this
subject. He states that “ the true nature of art is the reflection of society’s
positive pure culture and of its appreciation and enjoyment of art. ”
AR :
Durkheim thought that the society " is to its members what a god is with his
faithful ". But then who are the prophets ?
Richard Halonen : The artists are
the prophets.
They aspire to a high level of consciousness and their work
obliges us to support them.
They contribute to help form a free thinking
society.
His point of view is literally a
thousand miles away from the "traditional " Saint-Simonism, “ promising of more
or less desirable utopias ” - from the phalansteries of Fourier to the idea of
Proudhon -, which hardly survived the XIX and XXth century.
If the art society remains the way it is from
Richard’s point of view (that being something similar to the spirituality in
art), it automatically will find a most pleasant manifestation.
The sociologist
does not try at any time to be the prophet. The artist remains the prophet.
This vision of the future of the artistic society
which Richard has is initially poetic and not stripped of deep personal
convictions resting on any kind of tyranical social order radically opposed to
argumentative ideology. His thought is based on a free thinking society. That is
prevalent in today’s culture.
There is perhaps something in this logic which
creates an " oceanic feeling " (that is to say, to some extent, " without
end "). This expression of Romain Rolland was discussed by Freud in the first
pages of his Disease in the culture 3.
Romain Rolland estimates that this feeling is the
base of the religiosity, independently of any worship and hope.
To sum up, he projects an optimistic attitude. He believes that each
person will decide for themselves as to their ideas of art. We seem to animate
Richard when he crosses certain mental obstacles, never hesitating to take part
of the societies in his projects like his " gallery without walls ", almost
unimaginable in Europe. However, the society can help the artist and vice versa.
There has been no doubt in his spirit. No barriers but a global vision for art
and artists. He works with these potential synergies, a feeling " without
limitations ".
Emmanuel LUC
ArtRealite.com © 2004 All rights reserved
This translation has been read over by Richard
Halonen
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