Should the Artist Become a Man of the World?

The traditional (Kantian) concept of the lonely, “wage-free” artistic genius seems to have disappeared in modernity. The traditional artist subject is currently fading away; it is increasingly being replaced by a kind of manager figure. The artist’s name functions as a brand (label), behind which the associated artistic work–not to mention its craftsmanship–almost completely recedes. This new type of artist, for whom ideal-typical current high-flyers of the business such as Hirst or Eliasson can stand, lets people work and works in a team. As a kind of “idea machine” in the background, he seeks to optimize the production volume of his art factory for the market as much as possible, creates networks, conducts public relations work and cooperates with companies. He himself appears as a curator or critic in his own cause and routinely stages his person.

In “Should the Artist Become a Man of the World?,” Kamil Doronyai takes a stroll along the unwieldiness of the traditional concept of the artist; especially with the help of key figures such as Warhol and Koons, this peculiar transformation of being an artist, including the resulting repercussions on the artistic production methods, will be made clear. Is art fully embedded in the market?

Kamil Doronyai, born 1983, studied communication design at the Merz Akademie Stuttgart. He lives and works in Stuttgart.