Abstract

The practice of art licensing is established on the premise of intellectual property rights and is accompanied by the use of marketing channels and promotional means. Furthermore, a design language compatible with art and a manufacturing process for mass production are crucial to the adaptation of artworks to diversified products. Functionality and cultural context can be converged in the process to create a deeper meaning of cultural representation. This paper starts with a discussion of definitions, processes and categories of art licensing, then turns to issues in art-licensed products, and finally, presents some evidence on the results of case studies. Several companies which engaged in the process of art licensing were interviewed to explore the strategy of commercializing artworks. The context of cultural consumption and characteristics of art-licensed products were also revealed in the process. The main purposes of this paper are as follows. 1. Analyze the art licensing industry through multiple case studies and propose a model for multidisciplinary collaboration in the field. 2. Explore the strategy of using design to transform art into products for the marketplace. 3. Review phenomena in the process of art commercialization as a result of cultural consumption in everyday life and make suggestions for the cultural and creative industry.