Education is decidedly not represented on solid ground as it doesn’t automatically make your way in the world, but it surely can help you float. I also like the idea of the art collective, much like the crew of a ship that has its own set of skills and rules, working together as a group to keep themselves afloat.

Dürer's paintings were generally very flattering, while his prints were generally more dramatic. I wanted my self portrait to reflect his less painterly print style to contrast Dürer’s flattering painting self portrait.

Spinks, J., Wouk, E.H. and Gravon, D. (2024) ‘Introducing Albrecht Dürer’s Material World’, Albrecht Dürer’s material world [Preprint]. doi:10.7765/9781526167613.00006.

I'm lucky enough to have been somewhat educated about racial and class structures found in the art world from a young age by my fairly radical, unconventional family. Many biases in the western art world have always been pointed out to me, but for many who haven't sought out to educate themselves, or had personal experiences with discrimination, it can be easy to miss many of the subtle, and even more obvious barriers to entry that exist in the art world.

I think the most effective thing that you or I can do to challenge the art canon is to have honest and informed conversations with as many people as you can, from all walks of life. I think this makes an effective basis for change and is usually overlooked in when discussing working towards a better world. More importantly it's is completely achievable for ordinary people.

Challenges:

Striving towards truth can't change the world on it's own, but action without truth will always leave us worse off. Most people are too busy trying to get by in their day to day to worry about implementing massive social change, but everyone is capable of striving to engage in honest conversation which ultimately better informs those who can afford to act, and allow them to do better by everyone.

A massive hurdle in decolonizing art is tackling the colonial values we still see instilled in our media and education. Art education still focuses on a relatively small range of artists considered more important than the rest. It teaches us a distorted version of history that prioritizes artists enjoyed and popularized by rich patrons of the art, essentially reinforcing that you won't make it into the big leagues of art unless you appeal to upper class, western values. Our education still focuses on artists that are palatable to a handful of historically elitist galleries and art collectors. There's a clear focus on middle-to-upper class white men who got along with rich patrons, or were easily marketable to them after their death. Even to this day we hear the art world attempt to self-reflect about the disproportionate representation of white, male artists, while only discussing a handful of token artists that aren't white or male for faux-diversity. People are slow to change anything the status quo even when it could directly benefit them.

Benefits:

I see endless potential benefits to dismantling the art canon and replacing it with a more honest history of art, rather than trying to reform it. I find much more inspiration seeing artists with a rich variety of backgrounds and struggles, instead of limiting ourselves to small handful of artists. It's simply more interesting to teach and celebrate artists who've had a wider range of human experiences. If we break down the remaining race and class barriers in art, it would make more room for artists from different backgrounds to succeed in the art world and ensure that more interesting and talented artists to rise to to the top of the art world.

Dimaggio, P., Useem, M., (1978),

"Social class and arts consumption",

Theory and Society,141–161.

https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01702159

Locher, H., (2012),

"The Idea of the Canon and Canon Formation in Art History", Art History and Visual Studies in Europe, Chapter 29–40

https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004231702_004

I don't have any problem with artists selling their art to make a living but I have a confusing relationship with valuing my own work. If I only have one copy of a piece, I'm reluctant to sell it but I would gladly give it as a gift. If I have multiple editions, I'm willing to let one go for next to nothing. I'm always advocating for my peers to sell their work and charge what what it's worth, but I find it hard to follow my own advice at times.

I do, earnestly think that art should cost what you can afford to pay for it. I would gladly sell artwork for little profit to a friend or a student, but someone with a nice car and a house should pay more for my time and skills. Venue is also another important factor, the more effort you put into displaying art, the more you should charge for your time, I don't think someone offering to buy my art at an art market should have to charge as much. Are people with less disposable income any less deserving or appreciative of art? As such, I think it's very important to have art for sale at a range of prices, as it benefits everyone by making your art more accessible. At the end of the day I make art for me, and if I can find a way to make money off that, I'm happy.

Despite the excess and extravagance of the art world, I think this approach to valuing your art translates to any level of fame an artist might achieve. I gain respect for any artist that keeps affordable art or merchandising once they reach the heights of success. I particularly admire Banksy's approach of encouraging anyone using his art for non-commercial purposes stating

“Print them out in a color that matches your curtains, make a card for your gran, submit them as your own homework, whatever.”

and avidly disavowing any and all merchandizing. He's reached a level of fame that most would dream of, makes a fortune, and still sticks to his own sense of morals.

Barabási, Albert-László (2018)

"The $2 Million Urinal: Why Hard Work Doesn’t Cut It", Behavioral Scientist,

https://behavioralscientist.org/the-2-million-urinal-why-hard-work-doesnt-cut-it/

Category:Marcel Duchamp’s Fontaine Wikimedia Commons. Available at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Marcel_Duchamp%27s_fontaine#/media/File:The_Fountain_(3038681452).jpg (Accessed: 26 November 2024).

Laboureau, S. (2021) Pest Control Office - Banksy explained, Available at: https://banksyexplained.com/pest-control-office/#:~:text=Anybody%20is%20free%20to%20use%20Banksy%E2%80%99s%20images%20for,Office%20license%20the%20artist%E2%80%99s%20images%20to%20third%20parties. (Accessed: 26 November 2024).

Beckert, J. and Rössel, J. (2013) ‘THE PRICE OF ART: Uncertainty and reputation in the art field’, European Societies, 15(2), pp. 178–195.

https://doi.org/10.1080/14616696.2013.767923.

This is how I imagine my ideal studio would look like.

It has everything I would consider to be necessary to work on a day to day basis, without too much clutter or distraction. My biggest downfall when working on my art is getting into my workflow so my ideal studio would be small and efficient, without any unnecessary distractions.

All I need is art supplies, a computer and a comfortable space to work. The natural light is probably the main distraction I would allow myself for my sanity, so I don't let myself lose complete track of time, but blackout curtains would be very handy if I was ever in a time crunch. I would want to store art supplies in a bookshelf of sorts so I don't put them into deep storage and completely blank their existence. The easel gives me a chance to get on my feet and work standing up, arguably just as important for my focus as it is for my posture. The couch would be a great addition to allow me the chance to rest without completely leaving the studio. I'd like a massive sturdy desk that's tall enough for me to work at standing or sitting, and give me plenty of space to spread out my work, something I have never been able to avoid when I'm hyperfused on work, despite my best efforts to stay relatively organized. My ideal studio would have to be designed with organization in mind to counteract my own messiness. Something I would personally prefer to do before designing a long term office, would be to consult someone well versed in feng shui. Although it's wrapped up in unscientific language, I seem great practicality for it to be applied in the workplace.

Chang, P.-T. et al. (2009) ‘Applying fuzzy weighted average approach to evaluate office layouts with Feng–Shui Consideration’, Mathematical and Computer Modelling, 50(9–10), pp. 1514–1537. doi:10.1016/j.mcm.2008.07.038.

Bourdeau, L., & Chebat, J. C. (2001). An Empirical Study of the Effects of the Design of the Display Galleries of an Art Gallery on the Movement of Visitors. Museum Management and Curatorship, 19(1), 63–73. https://doi.org/10.1080/09647770100601901

If I were to host a guerilla exhibition in my apartment it would have to be in the sitting room as it's the only spacious room in the apartment. I would have enough leeway to invite a decent crowd. Strictly speaking, outside guests are supposed to be kept to a minimum so I would limit the event to students and artists I know personally, no more than 20 odd people at any given time. It's close to the city center, and a lot of art students live here so I would be no problem getting the numbers.

Given the impromptu and personal nature of an exhibition in student accommodation, I think I would invite graffiti and mural artists to show their work. Despite the popularity of select graffiti artists in recent decades, there's a noticeable lack of curated spaces that exhibit their work, combined with the legal repercussions associated with the medium make it challenging for them to get their work recognized in the greater art world. Lots of street artists operate anonymously despite incredibly well recognized art so I would use this opportunity to give them a safe avenue for them to get some of the recognition they deserve. There's also a lot of graffiti on the walk from my apartment to the art college so I think that everyone that I invite would recognize the style of the artists exhibiting.

Luckily my balcony is big enough to accommodate as a smoking area, an absolute necessity for any event with students in mind. I could use my kitchen table for drinks and snacks, and our coffee table could serve as an art stall to sell smaller items, and editions of prints. There's also plenty of wall space for artworks to hang at least 10 sizable pieces, which would be perfect for such an intimate venue.

Waclawek, A. (2008) From graffiti to the street art movement: Negotiating art worlds, urban spaces, and visual culture, c. 1970-2008, From graffiti to the street art movement: negotiating art worlds, urban spaces, and visual culture, c. 1970-2008. thesis.

Delvalle, M. (2011) Graffiti gallery. thesis.

Lewis offers his own honest perspective as a journalist with a focus on the art world and doesn't presume to have all the answers, even going so far as to correct his failed predictions in trends. I did get the impression that Lewis had a specific story he was trying to tell, but I don't think it got heavily in the way of his reporting.

His status as an established journalist offers him unique access to key figures in the art world, that most people would never hear of. Many of these influential people aren't used to being in the spotlight, and as such aren't media trained. This leads to more honest answers, or at least ones that don't show the practices of art market in the favourable light that they might hope.

It was interesting learning about the inner workings of high-end art really illustrated how collecting can be more about hoarding wealth or avoiding taxes. It really puts me off the artists who lean into it, especially someone like Damien Hirst whose work never stuck with me to begin with. After learning how he mass produces work and outsources much of it to his employees, he strikes me as more stockbroker than artist. I'd nearly go so far to say that I prefer stockbrokers for being honest about their greedy practices.

I don't necessarily have anything against people earning money for the sake of it, but too much of it generally gives way for poor ethics, something we see throughout this documentary.

Lewis, Ben Dir. ( 2009 ) The Great Contemporary Art Bubble, BBC

Edwards, J., ‘Another Business That’s Too Big to Fail? An Interview with Ben Lewis about the Contemporary Art Market’, Art Pulse Magazine.

When I think about what makes digital art, I remember Microsoft Paint. MS paint is the free art software that has shipped with Windows pcs since November 1985, nearly 40 years old (the passing of time is gross). Despite it's ancient architecture, clunky interface, and the general sense of frustration it causes, has been the starting point in digital art for a lot of people. With hundreds of millions of computers being sold every year with a free copy of MS Paint, there has to be an countless artists have tried their hand and managed to create breath-taking art on this flimsy program.

"The popular use and cultural influence of MS Paint were not caused by technical advancements. Instead, it was MS Paint’s relative underdevelopment that opened up space and opportunity for a style of production"

For me the definitive MS Paint artist goes by Bean0ill887.

She captures everything I love about internet art, incorporating Y2K aesthetics into her pixel art style, offering an unique blend of realism and digital distortion. I chose the piece "fffdhhtjtrjedhejhh" because it combines a few of her motifs that I adore, and is undeniably rooted in the history of digital art. MS Paint has been around for so long that many people, including myself, have a fond nostalgia for it. Everything from the title, to the inclusion of the MS Paint toolbar and the crudely painted house, tells a story. She's playing with nostalgia. The house resonates with an entire generation who grew up with access to computer at home or school. As one of the most popular image editors in the world, a staggering amount of images you find online were made in Paint, and this piece taps into that recognition.

Bean0ill887 (2024) X.com (formerly Twitter). Available at: https://x.com/Bean0ill887/status/1820310630307414505/photo/1 (Accessed: 28 November 2024).

Davison, P. (2014). Because of the Pixels: On the History, Form, and Influence of MS Paint. Journal of Visual Culture, 13(3), 275-297. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470412914544539

Surprisingly, I found writing the rules to be the hardest part, and I really had to stretch my brain to make the conditions on each tile interesting and comprehensive with the rest of the board. I was worried that the instructions on the tiles would come across as too snarky or pessimistic, but I think the humour comes across clearly, it’s not supposed to be taken too seriously. I originally wrote the rules of the game on the wall to look as though they had been spraypainted on but the text was rather small over convoluted the message. It’s no more complicated than a vanilla game of snakes and ladders, you start one the first square and roll a six-sided die to determine how many squares you progress and follow the instruction on every square you land on. I experimented with dice with different numbers of sides to see what worked best, but a normal die ended up working best. Realizing that I was trying to overengineer the game, I wrote down the only guideline necessary, that “the rules are subjective”. After writing the only rule beside the title of the game, I noticed that they worked well together as a sentence. I completed the sentence as “Welcome to the art world, rules are subjective” which felt like a more appropriate, even poetic heading for this piece. After completing the final tiles and title of the game, I’m quite satisfied with the outcome. More than anything, I’m curious to see what reactions I would get from people playing the game. Like any game of snakes and ladder, you can win quickly with a series of good luck, but I think the unique conditions I put into my version makes for an entertaining twist, that is sure to get a good reaction from anyone who has a toe dipped in the art world. After playtesting it a few times, I think it makes for a good laugh if nothing else. Entirely for my own entertainment I think I’m going to get a few of my peers to try the game out to get their reaction after our deadlines are behind us.

Gobet, F., Retschitzki, J. and de Voogt, A. (2004) Moves in mind [Preprint]. doi:10.4324/9780203503638.

From mind to design in minutes, Tinkercad. Available at: https://www.tinkercad.com/dashboard (Accessed: 28 November 2024).

Womp, Free 3D design software, Womp. Available at: https://womp.com/index (Accessed: 28 November 2024).

Foundation, B., Home of the blender project - free and open 3D creation software, blender.org. Available at: https://www.blender.org/ (Accessed: 28 November 2024).