Who Is an Artist? Identity, Individualism, and the Neoliberalism of the Art Complex
The fantasized artist-as-origin began as the quintessential figure manifesting Enlightenment European concepts of individual autonomy and sovereign subjectivity—and thus of identity and meaning as these come to define and situate human expression as well as securing educated, middle-class, European...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Arts |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/12/6/234 |
| _version_ | 1797382127368536064 |
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| author | Amelia G. Jones |
| author_facet | Amelia G. Jones |
| author_sort | Amelia G. Jones |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The fantasized artist-as-origin began as the quintessential figure manifesting Enlightenment European concepts of individual autonomy and sovereign subjectivity—and thus of identity and meaning as these come to define and situate human expression as well as securing educated, middle-class, European white male hegemony in the Euro-American context. While we think of this conventional figure of the straight white male artist as old-fashioned, as having been relentlessly critiqued since the mid-twentieth century by artists, often from a feminist, queer, anti-racist, or decolonial perspective, this article asserts that the artistic author still drives much of the discourse as well as underlying the money and status attached to visual art today. Citing key works by a range of contemporary artists who have challenged these value systems—Cassils, rafa esparza, James Luna, Guillermo Gómez-Peña, and Susan Silton—this article foregrounds the critique of whiteness and masculinity and the interrogation of capitalism and neoliberalism necessary to interrogating these structures of value attached to artistic authorship. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T21:01:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cc29451c01bc43628c174adf99f89224 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0752 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T21:01:01Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Arts |
| spelling | doaj.art-cc29451c01bc43628c174adf99f892242023-12-22T13:52:28ZengMDPI AGArts2076-07522023-11-0112623410.3390/arts12060234Who Is an Artist? Identity, Individualism, and the Neoliberalism of the Art ComplexAmelia G. Jones0Roski School of Art and Design, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USAThe fantasized artist-as-origin began as the quintessential figure manifesting Enlightenment European concepts of individual autonomy and sovereign subjectivity—and thus of identity and meaning as these come to define and situate human expression as well as securing educated, middle-class, European white male hegemony in the Euro-American context. While we think of this conventional figure of the straight white male artist as old-fashioned, as having been relentlessly critiqued since the mid-twentieth century by artists, often from a feminist, queer, anti-racist, or decolonial perspective, this article asserts that the artistic author still drives much of the discourse as well as underlying the money and status attached to visual art today. Citing key works by a range of contemporary artists who have challenged these value systems—Cassils, rafa esparza, James Luna, Guillermo Gómez-Peña, and Susan Silton—this article foregrounds the critique of whiteness and masculinity and the interrogation of capitalism and neoliberalism necessary to interrogating these structures of value attached to artistic authorship.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/12/6/234artistart worldart marketEuropean Enlightenmentart historyneoliberalism |
| spellingShingle | Amelia G. Jones Who Is an Artist? Identity, Individualism, and the Neoliberalism of the Art Complex Arts artist art world art market European Enlightenment art history neoliberalism |
| title | Who Is an Artist? Identity, Individualism, and the Neoliberalism of the Art Complex |
| title_full | Who Is an Artist? Identity, Individualism, and the Neoliberalism of the Art Complex |
| title_fullStr | Who Is an Artist? Identity, Individualism, and the Neoliberalism of the Art Complex |
| title_full_unstemmed | Who Is an Artist? Identity, Individualism, and the Neoliberalism of the Art Complex |
| title_short | Who Is an Artist? Identity, Individualism, and the Neoliberalism of the Art Complex |
| title_sort | who is an artist identity individualism and the neoliberalism of the art complex |
| topic | artist art world art market European Enlightenment art history neoliberalism |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/12/6/234 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ameliagjones whoisanartistidentityindividualismandtheneoliberalismoftheartcomplex |