Notes

The Role of the artist
Ancient Egypt 3000 -1000 BC
---
Renaissance [rebirth] AD 1420 -AD 1525
Mannerism & Baroque AD 1525 - AD 1700
Romanticism mid / late 1800
Realism 
-seen as shocking and offensive when first seen
-painting ordinary people with little money e.g field workers, where as romanticism was more aimed at rich, perfect scene image.
Impressionism
Futurism
Cubism
Post Modernism
-Martin Creed: Gallery piece "the lights going on and off" 2000 -interested in what it means to be an artist
-Damien Hurst: Manufacturing art work
Prior to Renaissance
-The self was not considered to be a subject to explore in isolation  
-Prior to this artists had generally been commissioned to produce work for patrons - depicting religious, moral etc. themes  


Pliny the Elder AD 77
-wrote 'natural History' as important source of artists values in the 15th and 16th centuries
-Demonstrated extraordinary status Greek artists could achieve, which Renaissance artists aspired to.


Lorenzo Ghibern "gates of paradise"
-Sculptor, goldsmith & architect
-first artist to write a biography
-had new ideas about status of male artists


Francesco del cossa 1470 "The triumph of venus"
-plea to patron to be paid for commission as making a name for himself
-the response was he would continue to be paid for work by square feet


Artist as Entertainer 
-expected to arouse the senses and provide experiences that trigger the emotions of the viewer

Michael Craig Martin
"an oak tree" glass on a shelf
he questions what is art about, what their expected to do.

Art & Crafts divide

-crafts - skills & processes where as Art is not

-Modernism - a radical break from the history that preceded it.

-Characterised by a quest for novelty 

Modernism

-complex and diverse - not straight forward progression from early avant-guard to...

-Politicised / Expressive / Formal / The ???

Artists as having access to higher sources of inspiration and talent

-The mythology of the artist having a temperamental personality

-nowadays celebrity culture, the personality's portrayed 

-Artists as being 'other' : modernist idea artists being different. Able to look at society as if they aren't part of it.

Art & Democracy / commerce

Damien Hirst: has to be experienced and the shop is where people can experience it in a democratic atmosphere  

Artistic "personalities" 

-psychology

-social history

-the artist as 'civillizer' as 'border crosser' [challenges ideas / critical] as a 'representor'  

-artists demonstrate good taste to people

Psychologist 

-Lombrosos [1863] artists had more in common with the 'insane' than with 'men of normal disposition' : supported Victorian & Romantic notions of artists

-Otto Rank [1932] artists temperament could not exist without a support ideology.

-Rudolf & Margot Wittkower [1963] notions of the artist are driven by 'cultural trends'

-Becker [1982] art works can not be the product of a sole individuals work and effort. There is always an influence whether it be other peoples work, something that's happened to influence the piece of work etc.

The Death of the Author

-Roland Barthes [1977] image, music, text

-the artist was a genius / interpreted the meaning

-we come up with our meanings through culture what we understand things to be

-anything is a text we take images apart and read them

The Role of an artist
-To produce 'great' works of art that are valuable for there own sake
-artists as 'outside' 'genius' 'to be a cultural civilizer'  'border crosser' 


Artist placement group
Suzanne Lacey 'theory is on fire'
Joost Conijn 2004 [website]
-kids that live outside an airport on Amsterdam, questions what children can and can't do, what's considered as dangerous.