The social status of the ARTIST .

 Self Portrait (1500) Oil on Wood Panel

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

Durer painted many self portraits of himself from when he was twenty two to twenty nine years old. In the image above is one of the last three paintings of self portrait which he did, it is also known as Portrait at Twenty-Eight Years Old Wearing a Coat with Fur Collar. This portrait is one of the most complex out of his other self works. What we notice in this piece is how he somewhat resembles Christ, with the long hair (which was actually a wig), the poised and rather calm expression and the palette of earthy and dark colors. 

His features are quite balanced, suggesting that with the pleasing proportionality and equilibrium his face reflects the beauty and perfection which he holds – or it could be relating to the bilateral symmetry of the cross of Christ.

His right hand is raised to the middle of his chest, possibly hinting that he is about to pray or pose for a blessing. I think that Durer intentionally painted himself to the likeness of Christ in order to declare to the public that he was special, unlike anyone else, unlike any artist – to show that his great skills were god-like. Or it could have been simply a mix of aspiration and superiority complex by Durer to bestow upon himself a unique status.

Basically, he was quite fascinated with his face and obsessed with status, of what and how he displayed himself to his audience.

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

The Renaissance – which means rebirth, was the era of rediscovery of art and literature. Artists were not given much acknowledgement before the Renaissance, they were merely the people who painted or drew. But after the rediscovery, it was realized that much more work goes into creating a piece of art. Basically, people came to recognize that artwork required much more than mere talent - brains and calculations were essential in producing such masterpieces.

With their gifts in the fine arts and creative intellectual minds, many artists reigned higher statuses over other minor superiors such as craftsmen and even bankers. Imagination, innovation, and ingenuity of the artists were very much appreciated as they are today.

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

Portrait of Che (2009)

Gavin Turk is a British artist who absolutely oozes ego. He often uses his own image for life size sculptures of famous people. For many of his works, he casts himself as the main subject – the point of focus within the viewer’s eyes. He’s essentially showing how much he loves himself, his view on the status of the artist as an important and great existence in society and how he wants to be viewed in society – as a great iconic artist. 

With the piece featured above, at first glance, it appears to be the infamous mug of the Argentinean revolutionary leader. But really, it is a cleverly done self portrait of Turk himself. This painting basically further supports his desire to be recognized as a powerful artist idol, much similar to the motives which Durer seemed to have.

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

 The physical impossibility of death in the mind of someone living (1991)

Damien Hirst is a British “artist” renowned for his dramatic and controversial works of art. He was an important figure in Britart (Young British Artists), a style of abstract art known to be absolutely innovative and spectacular. One of Hirst’s most famous pieces of art include, The physical impossibility of death in the mind of someone living, which consists of a large tank containing a shark preserved in Vitrine. His success in making incredibly retarded and notorious pieces of “art” has made him tens of millions of euros. In brief, in order to become famous and known, Hirst uses these divisive artworks to attract media attention, hate from much of the public and to spread his name around. An example of such controversy is For the love of God. A life-size platinum skull set with 8,601 high-quality diamonds.

He quoted,

“I was very worried for a while, because if it looked like bling — tacky, garish and over the top — we would have failed. But I’m very pleased with the end result. I think it’s ethereal and timeless.”

 For the love of God (2007)

In my opinion, the skull is an arrangement of blood diamonds stuck on with glue. Of course, that fully relates the piece to death and such, but the core intention of that skull is to make millions for Hirst.

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.

My Sweet Lord (2007)

Shark (2005)

David Cerny recreated a casting of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, who is shown in a tank of Vitrine, much like the shark of Damien Hirst’s The physical impossibility of death in the mind of someone living. Cosimo Cavallaro produced a 6-foot replication of Jesus Christ out of 90 kilograms of milk chocolate. He named the piece, “My Sweet Lord”. However, within two days of exhibiting in the Lab Gallery in Manhattan during Easter 2007, he took the piece down, stating that he felt pressure from the religious community.

Both these pieces of art raised controversy within media and the public, which is what the artists were almost certainly predicting and what they probably wanted – to raise their name, whether it was with hate or love from the media. With Cavallaro’s piece though, there could have been a reason for it to be so controversial (and could also link with speaking out as an individual), maybe it was the only way to powerfully convey to the community of the devaluation of God, and how Easter is not celebrated for religion anymore. The bunny is the centre of attention.

Even Impressionism was considered controversial when it was first exhibited.

Ultimately, art does not move on unless controversial pieces reach the public eye.

Art is made to evoke emotions, with controversial art; they provoke emotions and earn money for the creators.

6. How do you think artists and designers are viewed in Western society today?

I think that nowadays, artists in the Western society are quite underappreciated; they are not as recognized as they were during the Renaissance period. The ones who are appreciated now are what we may call the “useful people”, such as Doctors, surgeons, lawyers and such. Artists merely provide the audience with visual pleasure, producing pieces of work which millionaires buy off to place in their flashy mansions. It seems to be the same with many other types of artists, graphic, digital and fashion, they are all machines, designing and creating to make money. Many parents from Eastern cultures such as Korea and Japan want their children to study medical science and discourage even looking at the arts. I think it’s because of the fear that their kids might not be successful, due to old beliefs and views on artists. Hence when comparing degrees in Korea, art and design rates lowest.

These days, I believe that many artists are generally seen as tools to create visual items of bliss for their clients. The only ones who really are appreciated are the ones who fit into the handful of artists who actually have a god given talent, or those who create ridiculously outrageous works of contentious art.

Reference List

Art News Blog - David Cerny's Saddam Hussein  (2009)
http://www.artnewsblog.com/2007/06/david-cernys-saddam-hussein.htm

White Cube - Damien Hirst  (updated 2011)
http://www.whitecube.com/artists/hirst/

Web Museum, Paris - Albrecht Dürer
http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/durer/ 


The self portraits of Albrecht Durer (2010)
http://www.oneonta.edu/faculty/farberas/arth/arth200/artist/durer_intro.html


Chocolate Christ exhibition scrapped over outrage (news article, 2007)
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200703/s1886493.htm 


Damien Hirst: Shockaholic (2002)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/uk/2000/newsmakers/2268841.stm