capital

Capital is a series of encounters between two iconic institutions and the economies they animate; the Tate and the Bank of England.

In the Reading Point on Level 5 West at Tate Modern and in the Bank of England Museum, at unspecified times during the day a visitor is approached by a gallery or museum official. "This is for you" accompanies the presentation of a beautifully packaged gift -a limited edition print- produced by the artists.

The Bank of England is the banker to the whole British financial system, and also plays a major role in structuring global monetary relations. It regulates the financial economy by managing the availability and price of debt. As the lender of last resort the Bank guarantees and distributes the necessary trust, to secure the various interlocking domestic and foreign financial markets.

On the other side of the same coin, is it possible to situate the Tate - through its constant expansion- as the principle institution in a parallel symbolic economy. Like the Bank, Tate connects with a vast network of institutions both nationally and internationally, making-up the global economy of art. Does the Tate guarantee the integrity and value of the artworks and images it distributes within this economy?

Perhaps the traditional missrecognition of the similarities between both places has its origin in historical accident. The Bank of England was founded upon a debt - a loan to the King in 1674 - while Tate was founded by a gift - from Henry Tate in 1897.

Amid enormous speculation about the function of the gift in the social sciences, anthropology agrees on one thing; receiving a gift triggers the obligation to reciprocate, the counter gift necessitates a return and so on. An endless economy without apparent origin. If the gift and its subsequent debt, or a debt and a subsequent gift animate networks of social obligation, how are these forces structured and regulated?

Is the role of the Bank and the Tate to make these economies, and to make these economies visible?

The honorific Public Gift dominates the economies of our cultural institutions - gifts of artworks, collections, money and services- and as with all gifts, it’s characterised by the mis-recognition of the debt it entails. Or more often, the nature of the return is left unspecified. In an economy of value represented by the movement of money, a debt guarantees a contractual return with interest. That’s why a loan is never recognised as a gift.

Capital was detonated through the issue of gift, but was also accompanied by the publication of a book and a series of seminars exploring some of the themes: that of Gift, Economy and Trust.

Read our reflection on the project An Economy of Love. Or read a published conversation exploring some of the themes in Accruing Interest

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Capital: Book

A book accompanying the project, folds texts and photographs of both institutions around the themes of gift, economy and trust -with forword by Lars Nitve and essays by Frances Morris, Marilyn Strathern, Jeremy Valentine and Nigel Thrift.

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Capital: Seminars

All seminars were curated with Jeremy Valentine, and chaired by [the late] Paul Hirst former director of the London Consortium

Gift: 13th May

Marilyn Strathern Department of Social Anthropology, Cambridge University
John Urry Department of Sociology, Lancaster University

Speculation about the function of the Gift generated by anthropology agrees on one thing. Receiving a gift triggers the obligationto reciprocate. If networks of social obligation are animated by the Gift and its Debt, what is the role of the Bank and the Tate in participating in these economies, and making them visible?

watch the archived web-cast seminar at Tate::
Capital seminar 1: Gift

Economy: Sun 20th May

Jean-Joseph Goux French Studies, Rice University, Houston USA
Scott Wilson Institute for Cultural Research, Lancaster University

The existence of a financial and cultural economy, is in many cases taken as measure and test of reality - 'it's the economy, stupid'. But is there an original sense of economy, that would designate a purely financial, or purely aesthetic function in which 'other' obligations would play no part?

watch the archived web-cast seminar at Tate:
Capital seminar 2: Economy

Trust: 27th May

Geoff Mulgan co-founder of Demos, adviser to the Prime Minister's Policy Unit
Nigel Thrift School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol

Modern money and artworks evolve as ever more sophisticated technologies, requiring elaborate discourses to interpret them. Both are able to facilitate our experience of daily life, and connect globally with unimaginable force and complexity. How then do we trust the values that circulate within these economies?

watch the archived web-cast seminar at Tate:
Capital seminar 3: Trust

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A documentary of Capital was exhibited as part of the touring exhibitionThe Gift: Generous Offerings, Threatening Hospitality in 2003, and as part of Zero Interest/ Interessi zero at the gallaria civica di arte contemporanea in Trento, Italy 12th March 29th May 2005