Economics, an email conversation with painters, collectors, and economists

Economics & Art Discussion via email (text kept in email form largely unedited)

Questions by Jasper Joffe www.jasperjoffe.com

Answers by
Kenny Schachter art collector, gallerist, dealer, and writer about art. www.RoveCars.com

Nigel  Spalding  photographer, landlord and part-time art collector. www.nigelspalding.com

Kiera Bennett artist who helped set up a gallery and studios called Rockwell. www.re-title.com/artists/Kiera-Bennett.asp

Tim Stoner artist. www.timstoner.co.uk/

Erik Empson a writer and editor and lectures at the School of Business and Management, Queen Mary University of London.

Joseph Clements works at the UN on economic development.

Kenny Schachter

How important is making money to you? not important enough (ask my wife), but not having enough can be very sad and frustrating.

Why can't everyone be rich? and skinny and beautiful? that's life my friend. that's why there is existentialism. everyone can't be kate moss or qatar.

What do you want that you don't have? nothing really other than perhaps a bit more cash flow and a wider audience.

How do you make money? selling art/cars/design

What would you change about the economy? i think a laissez faire meritocracy is the best system

Can economics explain everything? human nature is ultimately inexplicable. the things people do and say is unaccountable!

Can economics explain art? it’s a component of art more so now than ever before; but far, very far, from the dominant explicable force.

What would you tell a rich person/ a poor person about the economy? its hard work, isn't it?

Why does some art cost millions, while other art is hard to even give away? there are many variables that factor into art pricing: who is showing, who is buying, who is reviewing. what institutions are involved, is there an auction track record, does the work appear in fairs and on the art festival circuit (biennials, documentas, etc). how cute the artist is. really!

How have the recent economic problems and ongoing recession affected you? every transaction is more drawn than before, there is a different notion of time when applied to selling something as intangible and seemingly superfluous, or at least non-essential element in people's lives. but to those that are ardent collectors and/or buyers, and they are legion-more than ever, art is largely unaffected by the downturn.

Why do you think it has happened? The uncertainty and instability of just about every other market sector has contributed to the surprising strength and ongoing growth of the art market.

What should we do about it? Enjoy.

You are economically successful. How did you achieve this? Success is a very relative term, even economic success, and not easily or succinctly defined. Surely its not merely material, so there is a gray area about the simplest essence of the term. Compared to some i am a pauper, so it really is a meaningless characterization. Also how do you square one's own sense or conception of accomplishment vs. the perceptions of others. Anything achieved is through tenacity, perseverance and work.

How do you choose the art you buy? There are one million variables I can state but in the end its a visceral reaction beyond words or thought. As the Supreme Court justice of the United States put it when asked to define pornography: I can't explain it, but I know it when I see it.

Do people criticise/envy/ or treat you differently for being well off? Some people are nice and others less so; but i have nothing to compare it to.

Can the UK government do much about it? The less governments usually do the better. Printing money is about the only tool to get us out of the hole we ourselves have dug.

How do you picture the economy (I mean visually)?

KS, from the series economic portraits, 2001, exhibited at international 3, in manchester.

Tim Stoner

How important is making money to you? It's a tool, it allows me to make ideas and continue what I have been doing for at least 25 years. I live beyond my means and don't get too concerned with it unless it’s 5th April.

Why can't everyone be rich? I have no idea, but the extremities between the richest and poorest make me quite uncomfortable, i think its unsustainable. I think that China will change in the next five years and it could change the global economic landscape.

What do you want that you don't have? Nothing. I use the best materials, so having more money will not change anything when I stand in front of a canvas, I'm more concerned with my health and human concerns.

How do you make money? I just send my accountant stuff and he lets me get on with making art and focusing on what is important.

What would you change about the economy? I would seriously restructure capitalism, I don't think that there is another system (yet) that can be imposed, nor work, so it's the best we have. I consider the ideas of John Maynard Keynes, and now Paul Krugman the most interesting in terms of future stability, without serious investment into infrastructure and social projects i think we are walking over the abyss. I would also address the very serious problem faced by the youth today, I think it's very unlikely that they will put up with things as they are for much longer.

Can economics explain everything? No. It can't even explain economics.

Can economics explain art? No, art is about the human brain, and we know almost nothing about it.

What would you tell a rich person/ a poor person about the economy? That there is more to life and one day the sun will swallow the earth... enjoy it now

Why does some art cost millions, while other art is hard to even give away? Because capitalism is about branding and investment. If your brand has kudos then it is worth more. Whether that has anything to do with quality is an entirely different matter of course.

Is there anything you would change about the art economy? How do you price your paintings? How did you become a successful artist?

Its complex because on one hand we are discussing social phenomena, but on the other hand I see art as being a highly individualistic pursuit. The meeting point for me is that I believe that the most individualistically expressive aspect of human nature is the result of the most meritocratic and socially progressive environment.

I dont think that the art economy is any different from the *real economy*. As I said before its not something that I think about too much, I have other more pressing issues like how to get a precise colour or composition. I explain my world much more comprehensively using these means than words or systems.

I'm not sure whether I am successful in the material sense that people think 'success' is based upon nowadays. I am more interested in finding success in making better opportunities for my ideas, which is why as soon as the recession bit in the UK I moved to a huge studio in Spain and worked away from the *art-world*. I spent large reserves of my own capital funding new ideas, regardless of the outcome: Recession is a time of opportunity for artists.

There is far too much clutter and nonsense around artists 'careers', I became very cynical about this after winning the Becks Futures at the ICA more than a decade ago, because the art-world-economic expectation was to continue doing the same thing so that I could feed collector demand, I think that this obsession with 'the next new thing' is the biggest problem that the 'scene' has (for want of a better word). Change and development are necessary in order to generate new ideas and further ones vision, and capitalism does not create much space for this. The objective is not to 'get into the game', that's easy. The objective of success is to stay in the game, and that's difficult.

I picture the economy as it has always been - as churchill said; 'with the monarch as the apex of the feudal pyramid'..... and I guess the majority of us at the bottom, pretty immobile. Sadly the pyramid has become more obtuse over the last ten years.

Kiera Bennett

How important is making money to you? Well, on reflection it can't be that important because I've reached 41years of age and made very little by continuing to pursue something that is not , so far, very lucrative - I've even stopped making work that started to sell very well as I wanted to follow other lines of logical investigation that those previous buyers weren't so keen on or 'got' ('inconsistency' I believe its described as - I call it 'integrity'!!)...having said that I need to make money to make more work and to some extent preserve the sanity that comes with a greater sense of security i.e. if you've not got enough to pay rent or buy art materials it can affect ones freedom to make work...and makes me tired and frustrated - the worries feed my insomnia...just enough not to worry is enough I think...but I'm not saying that I wouldn't thrive on and enjoy being loaded I'm not totally averse to obscene shopping sprees- I do think I'd make more work if I had more money, bigger studio etc.. I'd like to not HAVE to be 'creative' in every aspect of my life...cash flow is definitely beneficial to a degree (but didn't Jarvis Cocker say he found it hard to write good songs when he became rich and famous) however with painting I think money can help, it allows you to make those things you want to and gives you time...fame or gallerists etc 'may' interfere with 'integrity' but I think money alone can help.

Why can't everyone be rich? Why can't everyone be healthy? Why do bad things happen to good people and good to bad? Because life is unfair and to be honest how weird would that be?.. there'd be no benchmarks or differences we'd all be the same so no one would be rich?! maybe love would become a desirable commodity? ..I'm sad that some are very poor,  I don't want to see poverty and of course I ask myself that question but if you're talking 'RICH' + everyone was 'rich' it may be a scary world to live in..it may be interesting 'everyone' having a say in what is most commercially attractive..not sure if art would have much place in that though..sounding a bit like a misanthrope now but going on majorities and most popular newspapers read etc I wouldn't have much faith in 'good' art having much of a role+in some cases that 'character building' 'fight'+resulting creativity may vanish but then so may bitterness and anger, who knows, we'll never know - (mind you it would be funny if the likes of some of the useless 'celebrity' rich had no reason to feel superior)- pessimistically I don't think harmony would ensue...+sadly elitism has its good points.....having said that I could buy art and I'd buy really good stuff - (back and forth - I could waffle on for ages but won't bore you -- will try to be concise from here on in)  

What do you want that you don't have? besides guaranteed health and long life for all those I love and me!? ...more money absolutely ....and a platform to get my paintings seen by more people

How do you make money? Ha I don't - no seriously, I sell some work and have a fairly regular lecturing job

What would you change about the economy? the 'type' of people running it - but where do you find the kind of people who would run it better that wouldn't rather 'switch off their televisions sets and go out and do something less boring instead'

Can economics explain everything? What 'life, the universe and everything'? Of course not but boringly it seems to crop up in most discussions on most things

Can economics explain art? No it can't deal with the complexities and subtleties of thought involved, materiality in relation to subject, philosophy etc etc it's a science and although art /maths/science have links there's a chasm between them.

What would you tell a rich person/ a poor person about the economy? I am poor (warning cliche pending - but rich in other ways !!) very little actually  - I'm unqualified, not sure how to begin saying anything about it and have more important paintings and people to think about - how does it affect me 'the economy' I'm really not sure, as an artist who lives very frugally (relatively speaking - yeah everything's relative) I know my rent is expensive I'm aware there are very rich and very poor but what to say - I don't know?

Why does some art cost millions, while other art is hard to even give away? Who the artist is and knows - branding - death -association/validation - galleries -  who's bought them - there's tonnes of equally good or better artists that don't hit the wave at the right point time and time again - it has very little to do with quality of art but it can affect importance of it..some work is made important by those who validate it, who says its good – doesn't mean it is, but it can be! I just wish fewer people confused value with price.

Is there anything you would change about the art economy? The art economy, the economy?! ...having sent these questions to us on the eve of the news of the confirmation of the 'double dip' and all the recent headlines I feel that you, Jasper, are truly the king of PR and I truly admire your tenacious approach to 'doing' and making shows and debate happen...(enough ego massage now) but I discussed this with my other 'alf Alex Gene Morrison, how ,with slight guilty selfishness, the recession has only affected us slightly - rent gone up, stuff pricier but has barely made a dent on our accustomed to state of 'being in the red'...we always are, to varying degrees.. so I feel a bit immune to this...in terms of changing things about the art economy anything an artist may say negatively could be construed as 'bitter and twisted' - the dreaded 'unsuccessful failed artist rant' which in itself is annoying and leaves one in a no-win situation...I've tried hard not to seem or feel bitter but when commenting on possible negatives i.e. things that could be changed it invariably comes across like that!!

I would certainly like for there to be less emphasis on 'the next art star/celebrity' type mentality - buying cheap from degree level - I'm not denying the benefits of the couple of major art collectors - who provide fantastic opportunity but with such an emphasis on buying into such young potential it creates a system of underdeveloped potential, (possibly) being arrested and a 'product' (variations on a theme ) being the core of current art making (have you found your 'thing'?) or that possible potential not really being quite so interesting long term (sadly occasionally some careers for the odd charlatan maybe? - but this happens in all walks of life) - and then for all those young art students who don't 'arrive' as soon as the degree show is done there is disappointment - I read an article by Jules Olitski - he said that young artists these days expect a solo show and gallery as soon as their first pubic hair appears...but then it has probably been thus for a very long time...Olitski also dreamed of finding his 'Kahnweiler' - as artists we DO need financial support - a fairy godmother(!!?) - exposure -a platform to show work but it is a delicate line between that which 'enables' you to make art and being part of an 'industry' making a 'product' - there's a lucky few who have their cake and eat it and there is some great contemporary art out there being made by really interesting artists doing really well (successful)...it's not like some other art forms - like a jobbing actor or writer, other creative people don't necessarily need a studio/space/materials etc to evolve the work, daily 'time' to 'make'- money does matter and is important to 'enable' - it's great that there are a couple of collectors who, I think, on the whole do a great job in supporting young (and older) artists but it's very limited and the brit art market seems to be controlled by a very very small handful of people (gallerists/collectors)..who may or may not be qualified to recognise the broad range of what is 'good art' - the ones bought are 'verified' and pretty much secured some sort of future within the 'art world' - it has to become a commodity as it's been invested in so therefore 'will' become desirable! So the decisions of collectors really impact on what artists make - fashion is fashionable!!

I'm glad of some of the artist run spaces - I'm glad a bunch of us did that for a while ( Rockwell - Dalston - 2002 -7) Gavin Nolan, Reece Jones, Alex Gene Morrison, Chris Davies - set it up - we showed artist's we rated gave them a space to show work - non profit, just about showing and talking about interesting art...but it is tough without financial back up - but possible ...in the 'BIG ART market' the actual work (whether it's good or not) is confused on a critical level with a whole host of other things - who shows it, who gave it validation, who the artist knows, how old the artist is,( SO many people have potential at 20!) who the artist is...etc

How do I price my paintings? - it goes on what they've sold for before, mainly - also scale I guess - smaller cheaper! - what people will pay for them - I have actually sold quite a few things to other artists (Cornelia Parker, Julian Opie, Mario Testino and others***(don't need to leave that in makes me look like a bragger! - just saying!))- I really like this - those I know genuinely love it - absolutely no 'investment' criteria involved (I don't think, unless they're being VERY savvy and maybe they can be more than most?! - that only just occurred to me) ...mmm it IS important to me who 'gets' or likes my work...

How did you become a successful artist? I guess I consider my success to be that I can continue to make work and I teach painting so I pretty much do what I've always done - which is great - but financially speaking and having galleries, a larger audience I'm not at all successful - I do want further freedom to make more work and have a wider audience (and money! - would like to live in a larger than 'pea-sized' flat - have room to put up all the art Alex and I have accumulated (swapping and gifts)- be able to buy some art - paint my own front door etc ) but I'm doing OK, I show a lot - not many solo, but I consistently get stuff out there and manage to pursue my evolving ideas- I do have a dream of having major Solo shows that lots of people see but that I have total control over ( no compromises!!) is that possible?! I'm ambitious and try hard to work out why a 'Gallery' may be such a great thing - I think it would be, but would it affect my freedom as an artist?? I dunno, would the benefits I dream of, being hugely financially successful, actually alter my ability to explore and make paintings I believe in?? i like to think not - not in a negative way, anyway....?

How do I picture the economy? visually?...probably a graph 'cus that's what I keep being shown!! or a pile of cardboard boxes !

Nigel Spalding

How important is making money to you?  More important than not making enough money to not be able to stand on my own two feet.

Why can't everyone be rich? What do you mean by rich? Why can’t everyone be poor? Why are we individual?

What do you want that you don't have? I do not know. World Peace? Sometimes you do not miss what you do not have or do not know exists….

What would you change about the economy? Not sure I would know how to do that and if there are even any changes that would create a ‘’better’’ outcome than that that already exists……

Can economics explain everything? No. (Not all economists can agree with each other…)

Can economics explain art? Not sure it can

What would you tell a rich person/ a poor person about the economy? Nothing comes to mind – but that depends what they ask me and whether I can answer them….

Why does some art cost millions, while other art is hard to even give away? Marketing & publicity can play it’s part ….

How have the recent economic problems and on-going recession affected you?Harder to borrow money to buy property. You need a bigger deposit to buy and then you have more hoops to jump through to get the mortgage. Buy-to-let landlords have to put 40% to get the best loan rates (which are around 4%).  Pre-credit crunch you could borrow 85% to get the best interest rates (then around 5%).  On the other hand pre-credit crunch borrowing has dramatically reduced (so costs have reduced) and rents are now rising – therefore income is increasing. So pre-credit crunch landlords are in a good position now. But although rents are increasing it is very hard to expand to meet rental demand because hard to borrow of the credit crunch – so rents will carry on rising as supply of rental stock will not keep up with demand. 

Why do you think it has happened? The Credit crunch means that demand for rental stock has increased. Would-be owner-occupiers have to rent for longer as they need to save a larger deposit to buy somewhere. Longer term renters are seeing their costs increase so they have less money to spend on other things.

What should we do about it? Lower taxes – because disposable income is being eroded by inflation. This means people have less money to spend and this is therefore bad for the economy as people will cut back on spending. This means sectors dependent on consumer spending (65% of the economy or more?) are under pressure - that could result in job losses…..

Can the UK government do much about it?The majority of jobs created are by small businesses I think – so the Government should be reducing red tape and lowering taxes for new businesses etc - to help kick start and increase employment. (The high level of debt that we have as a country does tie the hands of the State to increase spending more than it is currently doing as increasing the debt may send the wrong message to the debt markets and they may start charging more interest on the loans the UK government has borrowed if they think that the money is not being spent well enough and will not be paid back……. Higher government borrowing costs would not be very helpful to the UK!! This would mean less money can be allocated to spending on essential services.)  I think for everyone £5 spent by the state at the moment £4 is borrowed…… is that correct? Also the 10% richest pay about 58% of all taxes the State collects. These figures can be checked with ONS.

You are economically successful. How did you achieve this? I am not sure that is the case……I and my partner have had success in property because, to some extent, the market allowed it….by that I mean inflation in property in London since 1993 has been a one way bet. So if you invested in property at the right time then you could not go wrong…..we fell into it by circumstances. It was never planned originally.

How do you choose the art you buy? I have to like it first – that involves connecting with it and relating to it and understanding what the artist and the artist’s intentions. It is personal taste at the end of the day and there is no accounting for taste!

Do people criticise/envy/ or treat you differently for being well off?
I am not well off enough! In any case, I would like to think am I treated for who I am and not what people may think I have…..One of the most valuable commodities is friendship and I would not like anything to get in the way of that…..

How do you picture the economy  I mean visually)? A ‘’LIVING’’ ENTITY

Erik Empson

Can economics explain art?

I think if it could, it would imply a worrying condition, one perhaps where doomsayer claims about the totalising and subsuming logic of capital were borne out. But in many respects art is always a scandal to the reductive mindset of economics that seeks to reduce everything to instrumental rationality and discrete ends orientated individuals ruthlessly pursuing self-interest. Clearly art has utility, as aesthetic experience, but to measure and modulate that in the way we do other commodities (and in a manner that many speculators would desire to and to a certain extent practice [I remember an antiques dealer telling me that, I think it was the price of paintings by Constable but it might not have been, could be pretty much accurately measured by the square inch) would have to undermine that aesthetic function itself, and bind it to standards entirely foreign to the freedom on which the opening up and practice of aesthetic experience is preconditioned. When it comes to economy, or general economy to use Bataille's concept, I am torn between seeing the very possibility of art lying in a economic surplus, i.e. as a result of social cooperation, that results out of abundance and free time for what Bataille call's unproductive consumption, abandon, waste, transgression and experimentation, and alternatively as the very basis on which social solidarities can form in the first place (either in ceremonial exchange, as in Potlach, or through shared sacred objects or fetishes, that allow for a symbolic order, and thus language and so on to develop.) Of course these two ways of thinking about it do not entirely exclude one another, but they do place art, as should be done with the economy, as part of a wider set of social relations. Possibly we can not make art until our other needs are satisfied, it is a secondary extravagance that we do when we have created space and time to create, or alternatively, the lack of that surplus forces humans to devise (as through religion) a way of dealing with scarcity.

There is another unique property or oddity of art commodities that are important to address in understanding art's relation to sociability as to other questions, namely the fact that like no other commodity, the value of art (reflected in price) can increase as art is consumed; unlike a mars bar which turns to shit on being consumed, the more people that see a painting or talk about it, i.e. consume it, the more it can increase in value. We can see this a little in things like religious relics, the object absorbs (and in some cases appear to embody) the social energies that it reflects.

One thing we can be sure of is that the art market is not a freemarket, it is regulated, price-fixed, monopolised, subject to robbery, bribery and all the rest, and in this sense it is a microcosm of the wider economy, rife with privilege, inequality, nepotism and all the rest. But the question is more complicated today, not least because of the claim that capitalism itself has undergone a transformation in which the creative use of social intelligence is now fundamental to economic valorisation which supposedly previously followed a simpler logic of just producing more things more cheaply. So called 'immaterial labour', the knowledge economy, the production of affect, if central now to advanced capitalist economics, and as implicitly recognised by the explanations of the art market as driven by brand and image and so on, gives a special place to the artist as one who can condense or distil social consciousness and help its valorisation. That the artist is not necessarily rewarded for this, even less the hordes of unpaid workers and interns (see the Carrot Workers collective for people who organise around this issue in the art world) and is often a conduit for the money making of others, shouldn't blind us to the significance of the transformation (if it is truly so), for it would shift art from being at the margins of social experience (marginal that is to people with a one way ticket on the money making gravy train) back to its central role in mediating social experience and facilitating new forms of life and love.

As for economic change. Pity that in a country with such a long tradition of utilitarian thought that one small thing that no one ever mentions in relation to this so-called crisis, is how easily certain problems could be fixed if we requisitioned even a small portion of land from some of Britain's largest landowners, starting with the queen and working down, and used it to build homes for the needy and provide jobs for the worthy. This would be a part of a scheme that sought to extend homeownership to everyone that lives in the uk, giving them a stake in their communities, economic security and a real choice over what they do with their lives.

Are there any common misconceptions about the economy you would like to clear up? I think one of the biggest misconceptions that needs addressing is the need for growth. Our economies only 'need' to grow because they are based on debt and the whole economy is geared not to the satisfaction of needs, but profit for these creditors and others. Remove this debt element - a political problem - and you have a different set of challenges i.e. minimising exploitation, waste, harmful and unsustainable practices and inefficiency and freeing up time and resources for other pursuits.

What would you tell a 7 year old about the economy? I would probably tell a seven year old something that good economics are systems of fairly satisfying and guarantee the basic needs of the entire human population of the planet, that to have these is a difficult challenge but one worth trying for and that any other economics is just hogwash

Joseph Clements

How important is making money to you?

- To the extent that it pays for peace of mind (and health costs) and provides some margin in life, in the event of... I find it beneficial to my well-being.

Why can't everyone be rich?

- Being rich is a relative concept, so if everyone was rich, no one would be rich? Having said that, many more people could be richer after a re-distribution of wealth. Most rich people are rich by accident of birth, so re-distributional policies are fair in the sense that they redress the arbitrariness of birth and good/bad luck. Here is the view of a colleague of mine: “That depends on how you define ‘rich’. Social wealth is limited by the amount of things available for appropriation, and it is measured by some socially accepted standard. Another standard establishes the threshold for being 'rich'.”

What do you want that you don't have?

- Some kind of property perhaps.

How do you make money?

- In a salaried job - as a colleague remarked, “a salary payment materialises in my bank account at the end of each month without having any direct relationship to what I produce…”

What would you change about the economy?

- For starters: less austerity, less privatization of public services, end tax havens and non-productive financial speculation.

Can economics explain everything?

- No, although it is interesting reading some economists’ attempts to do so – at best they are playful and fun, like the Freakonomics author Steve Levitt who explains why crack dealers still live with their mums; at worst, they exert an unwarranted influence on policymakers which can have undesirable consequences.

Can economics explain art?

- See above answer

What would you tell a rich person/ a poor person about the economy?

- More or less the same things

Why does some art cost millions, while other art is hard to even give away?

- Taste, and the ability of some people to create a market (cf. the Dutch tulip bubble in the 17^thcentury and art as an asset class). Or, as a colleague put it: “supply and demand determines the price of non-reproducible commodities manufactured in artisan workshops.”

Are there any common misconceptions about the economy you would like to clear up?

- Plenty; the idea that economies are the same as households for starters.

What would you tell a 7 year old about the economy?

- Looking at what happened during the last financial crisis, it seems obvious that children should have some kind of economics and finance education. We are regularly sold junk by salesmen and politicians in every form, and financial products and the economy are no exception.

How did you end up working in economics?

- An interest in the area of economic development, some qualifications, and then serendipity.

How have the recent economic problems and ongoing recession affected you?

- I live in Switzerland and so the ongoing sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone has benefited me to the extent that it has strengthened the Swiss franc, but I don’t really notice this as I tend to buy stuff in Switzerland, which still remains a very expensive place to live.

Why do you think it has happened?

- The recession? The de-regulation and liberalisation of financial markets, products (notably securitisation) and capital flows was intended to fuel growth but contributed to the creation of a private debt crisis. Due to the increasing interconnectedness of the global economy, this debt was spread throughout the financial system and had the potential to impact the real economy across regions. Instead of dispersing risk, this kind of debt-driven growth in fact left more countries, sectors and jobs exposed to the looming debt crisis. The subsequent, rapid de-leveraging of the debt led to a recession in many regions, characterised by falling real wages, growing unemployment and low growth rates. The policy response, which included in some cases the nationalisation of debt through bail-outs and government intervention, averted a meltdown of the global monetary system but has so far been insufficient to raise the global economy out of recession.

What should we do about it?

- There are many things that could be done at both the international and national levels that could boost growth and stability in the global economy in the short term, and lift countries out of recession. In the longer term, I could also highlight many areas where I believe more action needs to be taken: for example, I think we need to re-regulate the financial sector, and I think we need to address the funding and lobbying links between firms and governments, making them more transparent and reversing the ‘capture’ of public offices by private interests (I’m looking at certain media organisations and banks, for example).

Can the UK government do much about it?

- During a recession, when individuals and the private sector are either constrained in their spending, do not want to spend (believing prices will fall further), or cannot get access to credit, the government has a role to play in stimulating economic activity through spending and tax cuts. My personal view is that the government should be doing this now.

Economics a painting show by Jasper Joffe opens August 9th

Private View: Thursday 9 August 2012 6 - 9 pm

10 August to 18 August open on Thurs, Fri, Sat, 12 – 5 pm
Chateau Joffe, Shoreditch, London
Unit 3, 7C Plough Yard, EC2A 3LP
Liverpool Street or Old Street tubes
T: 079571 36066

Chateau Joffe presents a series of paintings about economics: offices, Chinese and US factories, slaves, labour, bankers, mortgages and derivatives. All the images originate from the universal image bank of Flickr. Joffe constructs a visual vocabulary of the abstract terms which are used in discussing the economy.