The Social Status of the Artist

Self Portrait in Fur Coat (1500)

Albrecht Durer

Knob (1997) Gavin Turk

Damien Hirst and Maia Norman (1995)

Albrecht Durer's 'Self-Portrait in Fur Coat' (1500) shows a significant change in the way that the artist views and portrays himself.Research the paintings by Albrecht Durer, Gavin Turk and Damien Hirst in order to answer

the following questions;

1. Identify aspects of Durer's self portrait that show a changing view of the artist's view of himself as

an individual.

There are a number of aspects in Durer's self portrait that portray his vanity. For example the way his right hand is "elegantly touching" his fur coat shows that he see a lot of importance in wearing immaculate clothes. another aspect is the way his hair is so perfectly curled and has been painted so it looks like he light is shining off it. The work itself has been painted so that it has quite a warm glow in terms of lighting, giving the impression of Durer seeing himself as quite a godlike figure.

2. Explain how the artist's social status increased during the Renaissance period. Briefly explain why this happened.

 During the Renaissance Period, Artists' social status began to move away from them being seen as practitioners of mechanical arts and arts such as sculpting and painting being seen as art forms that require skills in "mathematical perspective, optics, anatomy, and geometry." This happened because sciences started to become more popular as society became more secular. Science become more popular meant that scientific methods started to get used when creating artworks, so artists could argue that they were "superior to mere craftsmen."

3. Comment on Gavin Turk's work in relation to individualism, status of the artist and egotism.

 The definition of  "individualism" is: "a social theory advocating the liberty, rights, or independent action of the individual." Gavin Turk's work, Knob relates to this in that it is simply his signature in the centre of the page. This signature is the unique way that he writes his name to distinguish himself as an individual, the way he has made it such a prominent image through the use of colouring it like a rainbow, and making it the only thing in the frame gives the impression that he has quite a high sense of self importance and is quite egotistical.

4. Comment on Damien Hirst's use of his work and the media for self promotion.

 Damien Hirst has used self promotion of his work by having his artworks printed onto different products ranging from shoes to skateboards. and example of this is the item of clothing his wife, Maia Norman is seen wearing in the photograph above. Another example of this work being printed onto a product is below, where Hirst has had the same polka dot design printed onto the bottom of skate board decks. This is a clever method of self promotion, in that it helps to expose his artwork to a much wider consumer market, rather than only people who are modern art enthusiasts.

 

5. Find 2 images of work by artists or designers that reflects some of the ideas of individualism,

self promotion or egotism that have been discussed on this blog. Upload images to your blog, title and date the work, identify the artist/designer and comment on the work in relation to the question.

Citrus Juicer -  Philippe Starck

Phillipe Starck is "one of the giants of  contemporary design", as well as a master of self promotion. This work in particular is one of his best known pieces. It is a long legged lemon squeezer, initially designed for the itallian design company; Alessi. It reflects ideas of  self promotion in that it is Starck's signature. The lemon squeezer is instantly recognisable as on of his designs because it is completely unique in comparison to other lemon squeezers, which haven't been made to look aesthetically pleasing, just to be practical.

6. How do you think artists and designers are viewed in Western society today?
I think that today, artists and designers are viewed somewhat the same as they were in the renaissance period, in that they make a living out of their work by being commissioned to do works for clients. However, today, although Designers and artists often get commissioned to create work for clients, they do have a lot more freedom, and there is more of an option to create the art first, then sell it to whoever is willing to pay for it, as opposed to making it to a buyer's specifications.

7. Comment on the blogs of other students.

8. Reference the websites and/or books you have used, at the end of your blog.

http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/durer/self/

http://radicalart.info/ego/statements/index.html

http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/news-features/TMG7733481/Maia-Norman-Damien-Hirsts-Californian-girl.html

My references:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2002/nov/30/art.artsfeatures1

http://www.arthistory.sbc.edu/artartists/renaissance.html

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/individualism 

http://www.designbuild-network.com/features/feature75292/