Art Thinking
Art, meaning and brand leadership
By Vadim Grigoryan
Synopsis
What do Louis Vuitton, Marina Abramović and BMW have in common? According to cultural strategist Vadim Grigoryan they are all players in the evolving relationship between the art world and brands – where creativity meets commerce and where brands increasingly function as cultural agents.
In his new book, Art Thinking: Art, Meaning and Brand Leadership, Grigoryan offers a compelling guide to the increasingly intertwined worlds of art, luxury and fashion. Drawing on years of hands-on experience and his popular webinars and lectures at institutions such as INSEAD and the Sorbonne, he shows how artistic collaboration and cultural engagement can drive meaningful strategies in today’s marketplace.
In four chapters – “Cultural Agency as a Vehicle of Brand Leadership”, “Collaboration”, “Patronage” and “Inspiration” – the book blends theory with rich case studies of major players including Audemars Piguet, Ruinart, UBS and Absolut. It also dives into the minds of artists such as Marcel Duchamp, Hiroshi Sugimoto and Theaster Gates, exploring how their practices can inspire bold, future-forward brand thinking.
Art Thinking
Art, meaning and brand leadership
By Vadim Grigoryan
Synopsis
What do Louis Vuitton, Marina Abramović and BMW have in common? According to cultural strategist Vadim Grigoryan they are all players in the evolving relationship between the art world and brands – where creativity meets commerce and where brands increasingly function as cultural agents.
In his new book, Art Thinking: Art, Meaning and Brand Leadership, Grigoryan offers a compelling guide to the increasingly intertwined worlds of art, luxury and fashion. Drawing on years of hands-on experience and his popular webinars and lectures at institutions such as INSEAD and the Sorbonne, he shows how artistic collaboration and cultural engagement can drive meaningful strategies in today’s marketplace.
In four chapters – “Cultural Agency as a Vehicle of Brand Leadership”, “Collaboration”, “Patronage” and “Inspiration” – the book blends theory with rich case studies of major players including Audemars Piguet, Ruinart, UBS and Absolut. It also dives into the minds of artists such as Marcel Duchamp, Hiroshi Sugimoto and Theaster Gates, exploring how their practices can inspire bold, future-forward brand thinking.
“As an artist, you become an entrepreneur by definition… Maybe one can take some of the tools, methodologies, and see if one can apply them to something outside the art world.”
The Collaboration Horizon, an artwork by British interdisciplinary artist and author Marcus Lutyens (b.1964) musing on commerical interactions between artists and brands, depicting in graphic form the margins within which a brand and an artist may feel comfortable working together.
Book Details
Art Thinking is organised into four chapters.
Chapter 1 Cultural Agency As A Vehicle Of Brand Leadership covers the history of the relationship between art and brands; why the role of art and culture plays an increasingly significant role in our lives; why brands flirt with art; more profound reasons that brands should engage with art; the artist’s role as visionary and master of emotions; cultural capital as a prerequisite for social influence; art as a meaning search mechanism and a tool for time transcendence.
Chapter 2 investigates the most frequently employed mechanism of brand–art engagement: Artistic Collaboration. What are the benefits of collaborations for the artist and for the brand? Grigoryan offers his dos and don’ts of artistic collaborations along with a structured framework for evaluating the quality and success of any such venture.
Chapter 3 looks at the second fundamental way in which brands can engage with art and culture: Patronage. Grigoryan examines the fundamentals including institutional patronage, community arts funding, brand-created artist residencies, brand-sponsored art prizes, corporate art collections and brand-funded exhibition spaces, with special attention on tailor-made corporate or brand-art initiatives. Grigoryan offers seven detailed case studies of brands that have engaged with the world of art as part of their marketing strategies – Absolut, Audemars Piguet, Azulik, BMW, illy, Louis Vuitton, Ruinart and UBS – with varying degrees of success.
Chapter 4 is dedicated to the purest and yet potentially most powerful type of art engagement: Inspiration– or to be more exact, non-aesthetic inspiration. In other words, taking lessons learned through exposure to an artist’s thoughts, philosophies, principles and methods of working and applying them to a brand’s own approach to marketing. Grigoryan examines the lives and art practices of nine artists – including Marcel Duchamp, Joseph Beuys and Marina Abramovic – and illustrates how they can be mined for precious nuggets that will enhance the way any brand goes about its business.
“Artists have the capacity to see things differently. They […] offer a deeper and different understanding of what surrounds us. We have learned a lot and continue to learn and share with them”.
Audiences
Who benefits from Art Thinking?
Entrepreneurs. Heads of businesses. Non-for-profit organisations. High-quality aspirational brands. General or brand managers. Marketing directors. Creative directors. Marketing experts. Anyone who wants to enrich their understanding of art for business purposes, or who would like to build from scratch a strategic brand-art initiative, or who would like to improve the depth and efficiency of existing art engagement efforts.
Artworld practitioners. Art fair managers. Museum directors. Museum sponsorship managers. Gallerists. Art foundation managers. Anybody in the art world who would like to build bridges with the world of business, develop corporate programmes or search for additional sources of finance from brands, entrepreneurial businesses and corporations.
Anyone with an interest in the interaction of art and money, business and brands, who would like to jump on the quickest social elevator (which the world of contemporary art represents) and who would like to set their foot on the path of enriching their lives with beauty and meaning.
“Artists bring us back to our humanity, they make the unseen seen. […] Artists have a strong role in human society to remind us to feel and not be machines. Through art, we experience feelings again.”
About the Author
Vadim Grigoryan is a distinctive and idiosyncratic creative director, luxury and culture brand strategist, as well as a practising artist. Vadim currently consults for brands and institutions, such as LVMH, Cartier, Azulik eco-resort in Tulum, Group Coty, Evian Resort, Mugler, Hugo Boss or Art Basel, on art direction and creative strategy.
Vadim has written several case studies published by INSEAD and regularly lectures at INSEAD, ESSEC and Sorbonne. He also runs Creavi, an artistic research initiative that blends together food and transcendence.
“I think that the Ricard Foundation, with its cutting-edge and generous programming, has contributed to a trendier, younger and more engaged image of Ricard brand and helped it penetrate more influential and demanding audiences”.
Art Thinking Podcast
The podcast Art Thinking with Vadim Grigoryan explores the captivating intersection between the worlds of art and brands. Speaking with artists, brand leaders, and creative thinkers, each episode delves into the artistic principles that inform and inspire brand building and marketing featuring interviews with Thomas Girst, global head of cultural engagement at BMW; Rosie Wolfenden, co-founder of Tatty Devine; and Neil Wenman, global creative director at Hauser & Wirth, among others.
Listen Now:
“There is not a single business that can make itself into a luxury or aspirational brand leader in the 21st century without cultural agency.”
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