Wood, Ch is ophe ; King, Alasdai ; Ca low, Ru h; Sco , B e
A icle
Te minal alue: Building he al e na i e Bloombe g
Finance and Socie y
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
Finance and Socie y Ne wo k (FSN)
Sugges ed Ci a ion: Wood, Ch is ophe ; King, Alasdai ; Ca low, Ru h; Sco , B e (2016) : Te minal
alue: Building he al e na i e Bloombe g, Finance and Socie y, ISSN 2059-5999, Uni e si y o
Edinbu gh, Edinbu gh, Vol. 2, Iss. 2, pp. 138-150,
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Te minal alue:
Building he al e na i e Bloombe g
Co esponding au ho :
Ch is ophe Wood, School o Elec onic Enginee ing and Compu e Science, Queen Ma y Uni e si y o London,
Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK. Email: [email p o ec ed]
Ch is ophe Wood
Queen Ma y Uni e si y o London, UK
Alasdai King
Queen Ma y Uni e si y o London, UK
Ru h Ca low
Fu he ield, London, UK
B e Sco
Independen , London, UK
Abs ac
In his essay we p opose a e aming o he Bloombe g Te minal, an in e ace used o ack
inancial ades and alues, by using i as a c ea i e, c i ical and cu a o ial de ice o explo e
he ela ionship be ween he a and inance. To con ex ualise his app oach, we o e a his o y
o he Bloombe g Te minal alongside an analysis o he powe o in e aces o shape bo h he
use and he ep esen ed in o ma ion. We use he e minal as a way o c i ique he
ela ionship be ween a acquisi ion and inancial ading companies. We hen desc ibe some
ou comes o a se ies o wo kshops hemed a ound he idea o ‘building an al e na i e
Bloombe g’. We conclude by o e ing some po en ial applica ions o a e- amed Bloombe g
Te minal as an open and modula in e ace o engaging wi h issues a ound a and inance,
bo h in e ms o con en and cu a ion.
Keywo ds
Cu a ion, in e aces, a ma ke , open-sou ce, ep esen a ion, alue
In oduc ion
The Bloombe g Te minal is one o he mos widely used compu ing sys ems o ack inancial
ades and alues in he wo ld. In his essay we explo e he possibili y o hacking o ebuilding
he e minal o use i o engage c i ically and c ea i ely wi h issues a ound a and inance.
Finance and Socie y
2016, 2(2): 138-50
© The Au ho (s)
10.2218/ insoc. 2i2.1727
Essay
139 Finance and Socie y 2(2)
The mo i a ion o his essay is a collabo a i e a is ic p ojec o build an al e na i e and
open sou ce e sion o he Bloombe g Te minal as pa o he A , Da a, Money se ies o
e en s held by Fu he ield in London, UK. Since Oc obe 2015, Fu he ield has been cu a ing
a se ies o a shows, labs, and deba es which o eg ounded in e en ions in o es ablished
cu ency sys ems by ci izens, a is s, ac i is s, esea che s, and da a and inance specialis s,
aiming o wo k acco ding o communi a ian p inciples and o build a commons o a s in he
ne wo k age.
We begin he essay by o e ing a his o y o he e minal and some hough s on he
a ec i e powe o he in e ace. The Bloombe g Te minal does no me ely ep esen economic
ela ions, bu a he enac s hem h ough he e-en o cemen o a se o powe ela ions and
he cons uc ion o he igu e o he Bloombe g ade . Gi en he powe o his in e ace o
c ea e and e-en o ce connec ions and ela ions, we a gue ha , h ough c i ical in e oga ion,
i has g ea po en ial o p o oke e lec ion on he wide inancial sys em. We hen o e an
al e na i e idea o he e minal as a si e o di e se collabo a ion. As examples o he kind o
wo k his new e minal could con ain, we o e some e lec ions on he po en ial o he
e minal as a cu a o ial model o as a lens o explo e he way he inance indus y is in ol ed
in d i ing alue wi hin he a ma ke . As La ou (2004: 21) no es, a p ac ices a e pa icula ly
well o ien ed o his kind o specula i e wo k and “can explo e new possibili ies wi h a much
g ea e deg ee o eedom because [ hey a e] so good a hough expe imen s”. Based on he
p ocesses and ou comes o he A , Da a, Money e en s, we conclude ha he al e na i e
e minal is well posi ioned o o e a si e o exchange and he collec i e p oduc ion o c i ical
meaning a ound he deploymen o inance wi hin a and socie y.
The Bloombe g Te minal
The Bloombe g Te minal, o mo e accu a ely, he online da a and in o ma ion se ices
ma ke ed unde he banne o Bloombe g P o essional, made i s ini ial appea ance in
Decembe 1982, and has become an endu ing, e en iconic, ool in he his o y o compu ing, o
he ex en ha a ious models appea in Silicon Valley’s Compu e His o y Museum and in he
Smi hsonian’s Na ional Museum o Ame ican His o y (McC acken, 2015).
Figu e 1. The cu en Bloombe g Te minal in a dual-sc een con igu a ion. Sou ce: T a is Wise, Flick .
140
Wood, King, Ca low and Sco
Unlike o he iconic compu e s, i has no a emp ed o b oaden i s appeal o a uni e sal public,
o e ing ins ead key niche se ices o he in es men , banking, and inance sec o . I is en ed
on a mon hly basis o app oxima ely $1500 by subsc ibe s a ound he wo ld, cu en ly
numbe ing 325,000, p o iding ins an access o as amoun s o inancial and ading da a –
i p ocesses 60 billion pieces o in o ma ion a day – o e ing also a cha o um on ela ed
opics, and he acili y o ca y ou ins an online ades (McC acken, 2015).
The Bloombe g P o essional se ice can be accessed h ough PCs, able s, and
sma phones, hough i s mos iconic mani es a ion is h ough he Bloombe g Te minal, a dual-
sc een moni o wi h a inge p in scanne and specialised, colou -coded keyboa d ha o e s
immedia e access o a eas such as EQUITY, NEWS, COMMODITY, CORP and GOVT. Al hough
a in es men has become an impo an asse class, he e is no di ec ART key.
Figu e 2. The Bloombe g Te minal keyboa d. Sou ce: T a is Wise, Flick .
The sc eens sc oll h ough dense lines o w i en da a, much in abula o m, hough he e
a e also g aphical displays such as a acili y o ack ac oss global maps he mo emen o
me chan and commodi y shipping, down o he de ail o he p ecise loca ion o each
indi idual essel (McC acken, 2015). Ul ima ely, wha he Bloombe g Te minal o e s i s
cus ome s is an in es o -o ien ed, niche, p i a e, sup emely as , e sion o he much b oade ,
‘ lakie ’ in e ne . As Bloombe g’s CEO, Shawn Edwa ds a gues, “Ou ne wo k is eally abou
con ol [...] I ’s abou being able o manage ou own sys em and ha e ine g ain con ol”
(McC acken, 2015: pa a. 17).
While he Bloombe g Te minal migh be a amilia , and in many cases indispensable,
business ool o housands o in es o s and inance p o essionals a ound he wo ld, i
emains la gely unknown and i s wo kings opaque o hose ou side he sec o . As Sco (2016:
pa a. 1) sugges s, i s speed o access o highly ocused se s o essen ial in es men da a
means ha he Bloombe g Te minal comes o be seen as “emblema ic o he agg essi e p o i -
seeking ade , banke o deal-make seeking na ow indi idual gain, disconnec ed om he
social and ecological impac o hei ac ions, using ma hema ical-scien i ic-analy ic ools o
con ol”.
This sense o in ense ocus by inancial wo ke s on na ow in es men and ading da a
accompanied by a gene al disconnec edness om he wide wo ld beyond he sc een has
141 Finance and Socie y 2(2)
been add essed by Kno -Ce ina (2000: 146), whose s udy o he ading loo o a Swiss bank
no ed ha :
When ade s a i e in he mo ning hey s ap hemsel es o hei sea s, igu a i ely speaking, hey b ing up
hei sc eens, and om hen on hei eyes will be glued o ha sc een, hei isual ega d cap u ed by i
e en when hey alk o shou o each o he , and hei body and he sc een wo ld mel ing oge he in wha
appea s o be a o al imme sion in he ac ion in which hey a e aking pa .
In e ms o i s in e ac ion expe ience, he Bloombe g Te minal is d i en by i s mul i-laye ed,
mul i-windowed in e ace. I is a dashboa d agg ega ing and p esen ing as amoun s o a ied
da a. The dashboa d in e ace has enjoyed a ise o p ominence since 2000. One may see i
on blogging pla o ms such as Wo dp ess and Tumbl , p o essional manage ial con ex s and
inc easingly in ‘sma ci y’ en i onmen s. In all hese cases he dashboa d is designed o
collec , a ange and p esen a la ge amoun o in o ma ion in an accessible way. Howe e ,
ollowing Tkacz (2014) and Ki chen e . al. (2015), we would a gue ha he dashboa d
in e ace is no a ep esen a ional in e ace, bu a he one ha o ms he ac o s which i
connec s. Dashboa ds do no simply con ey in o ma ion. By he ac o selec ing and a anging
da a sou ces hey make assump ions abou bo h wha is ele an and ele an in ela ion o
wha . C ucially, as well as cons uc ing he wo ld hey e e o, hey also cons uc he use
si ing in on o he dashboa d.
Following Tkacz’s his o ical analysis (2014) we can ace a line om he ca dashboa d o
he boa d oom and ading dashboa ds ha p oli e a e oday. Wi hin a ca , he ins umen s on
a dashboa d depic ela ions be ween elemen s in he engine. When he dashboa d was
in oduced in o ehicles, he ole o he pe son ope a ing he ca changed. They no longe
needed an in ima e knowledge o he wo kings o he machine; a he , hey jus needed o
ead he dashboa d. They ceased o become an ope a o and became a d i e . A simila
p ocess ook place wi h he deploymen o ableaux du bo d in 1950s and ‘60s F ench
indus ial con ex s. He e he manage s mo ed away om he ac o y loo and in o sepa a e
buildings, pe haps in a di e en pa o he coun y. They used pape dashboa ds ull o
g aphs and igu es o manage emo ely. They oo became d i e s and, a he same ime, he
ac o y became a machine unde s ood and con olled h ough dashboa d ins umen s.
By laying ou dynamic p ice in o ma ion, and in o ma ion abou who is bidding on wha ,
he Bloombe g Te minal p o ides a simila expe ience o con ol in a ading con ex . I
any hing, he sense o con ol is ca alysed by he dep h and complexi y o he in e ace. I is
di icul o a use o he e minal o ge a sense o all he unc ions a ailable and e en mo e
di icul o become p o icien wi h hem. This, a guably, shi s he au a o (omni)po ency om
he use o he in e ace i sel , imbuing i wi h an in angibili y ha helps jus i y he high
mon hly e minal en al ees. The Bloombe g Te minal is hus unde s ood as a complex,
slippe y and powe ul ins umen ha can d i e as well as ep esen he ma ke .
The e minal also lies wi hin a ne wo k o human colleagues and echnical objec s.
T ade s using he Bloombe g e minal en e in o a si ua ion desc ibed by Kno -Ce ina (2009:
64) as s uc u ed as a ‘scopic sys em’:
In such ma ke s, a scopic sys em is an a angemen o ha dwa e, so wa e, and human eeds ha oge he
unc ion like a scope: like a mechanism o obse a ion and p ojec ion, he e collec ing, augmen ing, and
ansmi ing he eali y o he ma ke s, hei in e nal en i onmen s and ex e nal con ex . Wi hin his domain,
he mechanism is e lexi e: he sys em mi o s a wo ld ha pa icipan s con on like an ex e nal eali y
while also being pa o i and con ibu ing o i h ough hei pos ings and ansac ions.

142
Wood, King, Ca low and Sco
Kno -Ce ina (ibid: 65) cha ac e ises his si ua ion as “syn he ic” in ha i is cons i u ed by an
en i onmen ha is unusually dependen upon an “a en ion-demanding elec onic si ua ion”,
as well as in e ac ion be ween wo o mo e ade s. This en i onmen is domina ed by
an elec onically p ojec ed si ua ion [ ha ] eaches a beyond wha would o dina ily be isible in a physical
se ing; no only does i include many laye s and windows p o iding geopoli ical and epis emic dep h and
in e nal con ex ualisa ion, bu i also s i ches oge he an analy ically cons i u ed wo ld made up o
‘e e y hing’ po en ially ele an o he in e ac ion. (Kno -Ce ina, 2009: 65-66)
The in o ma ion p o ided o he ade s is c ucial o he cons uc ion o he ‘in e nal eali y’ o
hei syn he ic si ua ion. The speci ic geopoli ical in o ma ion, o example, ha ade s access
ia he Bloombe g e minal, helps o o m he ade s’ sense o he con ex wi hin which hey
a e p oposing and concluding ades and which cons i u es hei iew o he wide , ‘non-
syn he ic’ wo ld.
As Kno -Ce ina (2009: 69-70) w i es,
A syn he ic si ua ion … is a composi e o in o ma ion bi s ha may a ise om many a eas a ound he wo ld
and ea u e he mos di e se and agmen ed con en . Syn he ic si ua ions a e always in he p ocess o
being assembled: om au oma ic and non-au oma ic eeds, om eal-li e epo ing, om he in e ac ions
hemsel es, ins an ly mi o ed on-sc een and gene a ing hei own con ex s.
Callon (1998) and MacKenzie (2007) ha e p oposed ha economics is a pe o ma i e
discipline. This means ha economics “does hings, a he han simply desc ibing (wi h
g ea e o lesse deg ees o accu acy) an ex e nal eali y ha is no a ec ed by economics”
(MacKenzie, 2007: 54). Economics, hen, is an ac i e pa o a se ies o social, poli ical and
mo al con ex s in luencing hem, jus as i is in luenced by hem. I does no s and emo ely,
making dis an knowledge claims abou i s objec o s udy. The Bloombe g Te minal also does
hings, bu i is use ul o ead his ‘doing’ as he a angemen o an assemblage o human and
non-human elemen s. Benne (2005: 447) unde s ands poli ical agency as exis ing in such
assemblages o objec s, people, in e ac ions and con ex s a he han in a single agen o
sys em. In his way, he Bloombe g Te minal ‘does hings’ h ough he ype o objec i is;
h ough he con ex s i eme ges om and he pa icula ways i a anges and p esen s
in o ma ion. Th ough he choices i makes in wha in o ma ion o p esen and how i is
p esen ed, i can u n con ingen knowledge in o ecei ed knowledge, gi ing his knowledge a
sense o cohe ence ha is ul ima ely illuso y (Licoppe, 2010). By collec ing such a mass o
in o ma ion, i cons uc s he ade as a d i e and he ma ke as a machine which can be
moni o ed and d i en.
The idea o he ma ke as a machine is no a new one. Da ies and McGoey (2012) a gue
ha Mil on F iedman and his colleagues in he Chicago School used i as a way o
unde s anding how people should ac wi hin a gi en se o condi ions. Building on his idea o
homo economicus, mo e abs ac ed models eme ged o calcula ing isk and nego ia ing
complex socio-economic si ua ions (Da ies and McGoey, 2012: 71). The key he e is he idea o
p edic abili y, which ende s economics as a ‘ha d’ science wi h he abili y o obse e epea ed
esul s. The Bloombe g Te minal o e s i sel as an in e ace o obse e, unde s and and
in e ene in ha p ocess. In doing his, i ein o ces bo h he idea o he ma ke as some hing
ha can be unde s ood, p edic ed and con olled and he ade as he one in con ol.
The wo kshop on building an al e na i e, ‘ac i is Bloombe g’, led by B e Sco in
No embe 2015, he e o e has bo h an aes he ic and a socio-poli ical dimension. By changing
he in o ma ion which is being p esen ed and he ways in which i is a anged, an al e na i e
143 Finance and Socie y 2(2)
e minal would se e as a poin o c i ical in e en ion. The ‘al e na i e Bloombe g’ p oposed
in he wo kshop comp ises h ee quasi-disc ee elemen s: (1) eplica ing and building he
exis ing Bloombe g Te minal in o ma ion bu he e in an open o ma ; (2) sou cing new c i ical
da a no cu en ly o e ed on he Bloombe g Te minal; and (3) wo king on new ways o
p esen ing his c i ical da a using a ious isual and/o in e ac i e models. The ini ial concep
o he al e na i e Bloombe g in ol es c ea ing a pla o m ha cu a es exis ing da a, esou ces
and ools – o example, oil inance da a om OpenOil and bank lending da a om BankT ack1
– bu he deepe p ojec is o c ea e a pla o m ha inspi es and allows he c ea ion o new
da a and ools.
Following his, we p opose he al e na i e e minal as a modula pla o m, ull o building
blocks which can be c ea ed, edi ed and mo ed a will. This adap i e s uc u e will hope ully
make he al e na i e e minal mo e esilien o he complexi y inhe en in designing o he
commons. Unde his model, use s would be able o add hei own con en o da a s eams, o
c ea e hei own in e aces and sub-in e aces. Wi hin his spi i , we o e an explo a ion o he
co-p oduc i e ela ionship o alue be ween he a and inance sec o s.
A , inance, alue
The a ma ke con ains a numbe o oles and p ocesses which allow i o unc ion. These
equen ly eed back in o each o he o in la e he alue o ce ain a wo ks. Ce ain oles in
he ma ke a e alloca ed o collec o s, galle is s and ade s (a is s may also be coun ed
he e). Auc ion houses, biennials and a ai s a e also highly signi ican bo h as si es whe e
ades a e made and as si es whe e alue is p oduced. Fo example, he Venice Biennale
akes place e e y yea sho ly be o e he A Basel a ai and can ac o c ea e a buzz a ound
ce ain a is s. Equally, collec o s may use hei posi ion on he boa d o a museum o p omo e
a is s in hei own collec ion, he eby inc easing he alue o he wo k. An example o his ha
caused con o e sy was he “Skin F ui ” show moun ed a New Yo k’s New Museum in 2010.
The show was cu a ed by Je Koons and ea u ed o e 100 wo ks owned by businessman
Dakis Joannou, who was also a us ee on he museum’s boa d.
The a ma ke should no be seen as a cohe en and uni o m objec o ield. I is
cons i u ed by he ela ions be ween collec o s, galle is s, ade s, a is s, ai s and exhibi ions,
which allows us o alk o ‘a ma ke ’, bu hese ela ions a e no equal o all-encompassing.
Vel huis (2012: 38) iden i ies he a ma ke as being composed o “ci cui s o comme ce”,
each o which has “ hei own ac o s, business, p ac ices, egime o alue, and logic o ac ion”.
Di e en ci cui s o comme ce exis o so-called ‘blue chip’ a is s (such as Damien Hi s and
Je Koons) and o disciplines such as ideo a . Each o hese ci cui s has hei own logics o
access and exclusi i y and hei own p ocesses o ein o cing alue. I is umou ed ha he
anonymous buye o Damien Hi s ’s diamond enc us ed skull, Fo he Lo e o God, was in ac
a conso ium which included Hi s himsel . They planned o exhibi he wo k a ound he wo ld,
he eby inc easing i s alue o a subsequen esale.
US pe o mance a is And ea F ase a emp ed o add ess he ela ionship be ween he
owne ship o a wo ks and he mo emen s o a de egula ed inancial sec o in he c i ical ex ,
“L’1%, c’es moi” (F ase , 2011). A o um declined o publish he unsolici ed piece, and so he
a is hen w o e a sligh ly di e en a icle o he Ge man qua e ly Tex e de Kuns , in which
she used an alphabe ical lis ing o he op 200 collec o s published by ARTnews (Tho n on,
2014: 350). F ase (2011: 119) a gued ha :
144
Wood, King, Ca low and Sco
The ma ke -domina ed sub- ield o galle ies, auc ion houses, and a ai s’ belonged less o he ield o
c i ical aes he ics and in eali y should be unde s ood as pa o he ‘luxu y goods business i al eady
basically is, wi h wha ci cula es he e ha ing as li le o do wi h a as yach s, je s, and wa ches.
F ase ’s piece, which wen i al in 2011 and ea ly 2012 a he heigh o he Occupy
mo emen , opens wi h an alphabe ical lis ing o he op 200 indi idual a collec o s published
by ARTnews. The majo i y o he 200 d aw hei as weal h om he wide inancial sec o –
om banking, in es men s, commodi y ading and hedge und managemen . Many o hose
named also ac as pa ons o a schools and uni e si y a p og ammes, and se e on he
boa ds o he majo museums and galle ies in he US, Eu ope, and Asia. Acco ding o F ase ,
many o hose named, oo, had ei he bene i ed om go e nmen bailou s du ing he ecen
inancial c isis, o had aced c iminal cha ges o aspec s o inancial mismanagemen o
w ongdoing o e he p e ious decade. A numbe had ac i ely campaigned poli ically o educe
axes and o ‘ oll back’ s a e in e en ion in a ious sec o s and o open up space o u he
p i a e in es men .
F ase ’s de as a ing c i ique shows ha he ma ke in a by he mos p ominen
con empo a y a is s is domina ed by he in es men o indi idual and co po a e agen s whose
weal h comes om he inancial sec o , compe ing agains each o he o aise he p ice o
wo ks by a is s ha hey deem wo h collec ing. A he same ime, ew a is s seem awa e o
conce ned by he easons o he liquidi y o he a ma ke o by F ase ’s asse ion ha he a
ma ke lou ishes mos whe e economic inequali y is g ea es : “wha has been good o he a
wo ld” she a gues, “has been disas ous o he es o he wo ld” (F ase , 2011: 118). In he
ollow-up piece, “The e’s no place like home”, F ase (2012: 187) compa es he Gini inequali y
index wi h a map acing ecen a booms, concluding: “I is clea ha he con empo a y a
wo ld has been a di ec bene icia y o he inequali y o which he ou sized ewa ds o Wall
S ee a e only he mos isible example”.
Elsewhe e, F ase (2011: 117) a gues:
he a ma ke boom o he pas decade has been associa ed widely wi h he ise o HNWIs (high ne wo h
indi iduals) o ul a-HNWIs (people wo h o e $1 million o $30 million espec i ely), e ms popula ized by
he Wo ld Weal h Repo s ha Me ill Lynch and CapGemini began eleasing in 1997.
F ase ’s c i ique ocuses squa ely on indi idual p i a e collec o s, ye co po a e a
collec ions ha e g own exponen ially in numbe and alue since he 1970s. Financial
ins i u ions, as much as weal hy indi iduals, ha e been key and keen pa icipan s in he
shaping o he con empo a y a in es men economy. As banks a ound he wo ld ha e
become c ucial a collec o s and in es o s, global inancial hubs ha e become impo an si es
o he mo emen and display o con empo a y a . Financial ins i u ions ha e in es ed in
acqui ing la ge collec ions and in ac ing as named pa ons o galle ies, exhibi ions, and
awa ds. Majo banks ha e u ned hei oye s in o acclaimed galle y spaces and he Ge man
s ock exchange has become he sponso o Eu ope’s majo pho og aphy p ize. Deu sche
Bank’s ecep ion hall a Winches e House in London, o example, ea u es p ominen ly a
me al sphe e sculp u e by Anish Kapoo and a spo pain ing by Damien Hi s , as well as a
la ge sculp u e by B i ish a is Tony C agg (Pick o d, 2015).
Acco ding o Global Co po a e Collec ions (Good ow, 2015), some 600 companies ha e
collec ions, mos ly ocused on con empo a y a . The inancial sec o , among he i s o
es ablish co po a e a p og ammes and long he main o ce in co po a e a collec ing,
ea u es p ominen ly in hese lis s. Deu sche Bank possesses he wo ld’s la ges co po a e a
145 Finance and Socie y 2(2)
collec ion a some 60,000 pieces, consis ing p edominan ly o hung a , pho og aphy,
d awings, ske ches and o he wo ks on pape (Ko asz e . al., 2007). Deu sche and UBS,
whose co po a e a collec ion uns o 35 000 wo ks, sponso majo in e na ional a ai s,
namely F ieze and A Basel espec i ely, wo k by buying di ec ly om he p ima y ma ke , om
deale s and a is s, a he han om he seconda y ma ke o auc ions and a ai s (Pick o d,
2015). In his way, hey o en pay a below auc ion p ices, and help o es ablish eme ging
a is s as well as in es ing in majo con empo a y (and o en blue-chip) igu es. By wo king in
he p ima y ma ke , he banks e ade possible cha ges om sha eholde s o specula ion. By
in es ing la gely in con empo a y a , banks “ y o align hemsel es wi h cu ing edge,
inno a i e and c ea i e wo k” (Pick o d, 2015: pa a. 11), and inc easingly a ge Asian and
some imes A ican ma ke s, as well as Eu opean and No h Ame ican. Con empo a y a p ices
ha e soa ed 600% in he decade o 2014 (ibid: pa a. 14). Pu chases o a by he leading
banks ha e emained cons an h ough much o he las decade, despi e he inancial c isis,
no leas as he main d i e o new pu chases a e he “deco a i e needs” o new buildings
(ibid: pa a. 19).
The leading in es men and e ail bank, he Deu sche Bank, became known in 1979 o
pionee ing an ‘a in he wo kplace’ scheme in i s New Yo k head o ice ha led o an
augmen ed ole o he Deu sche as a majo in es o in con empo a y a (Ro he , 2009). Key
employees a e in i ed o choose wo ks o deco a e hei o ices om he Deu sche’s a chi e.
Each loo in he 38-s o ey owe s in Deu sche’s F ank u headqua e s is dedica ed o a
speci ic con empo a y a is , in he ea ly days o he collec ion mos ly li ing Ge man a is s,
bu inc easingly in es men is made in global, pa icula ly Asian (Indian, Ko ean, Japanese)
and A ican a is s wo king in hung a . This can been seen as pa o a end whe e
acquisi ions a e inc easingly being d awn om eme ging inancial ma ke s. Deu sche Bank’s
commi men o hung a and wo ks on pape by p edomina ely male a is s wo king
indi idually aligns he bank’s a in es men s a egy wi h ecen ends in he wide
con empo a y a ma ke . Acco ding o Rich e (2012: pa a. 7), “i is ob iously no by chance
ha he mo e easily adable wo ks o a in all (new and old) a ma ke s in B i ain, he US,
B azil, China and India appea again mos ly as pain ings”. He no es an analogy be ween he
igu e o he indi idual (male) a is and he en ep eneu , “ he new igu e in eme ging
economies”:
I is by no means pe chance ha especially hese so called ‘a ai a ’ is mainly p oduced by and
a ibu ed o male p o agonis s … and i is no by chance ha he new ma ke s (China, India, and B azil,
who a e said o ha e sa ed he ma ke in he las big c isis in 2008/2009) p omo e male a is s who o en
use pain ing as a a ou i e media. (Rich e , 2012: pa a. 7)
A is a complex in es men in ha i s liquidi y is only accessible a poin o sale. Owne ship
b ings only cos s – insu ance, handling, s o age, p ese a ion, high ansac ion ees, e c. –
and as an asse , a is illiquid, being ha d o con e in o eady capi al (al hough in ecen
yea s wo ks o a ha e inc easingly been used as colla e al agains loans). A in es men
ope a es as an a ypical ma ke in ha ade is highly egula ed by deale s who, as pa o wha
Malik and Phillips (2012: 212-3) e m an “an ispecula i e ehemence”, o en ope a e a i s
igh o e usal policy on esale. T anspa en ma ke p icing is also made di icul because o
he non-disclosu e and manipula ion o ansac ion p ices by deale s. In es men in blue-chip
a (wo ks by Picasso and Wa hol o hose o a simila s anding), howe e , b ings consis en
e u ns and is nea immune o ma ke c ashes.