Iris ter Schiphorst
Does the autonomy of art need to be rethought?
The phantasm of the autonomous artist... The seductive idea of autonomy... which makes us forget that we are in no way autonomous, that we need others, that others need us, that we live in mutual dependence.
Art, all art, is embedded in a social context (institutional, economic, political, etc.). These contexts have changed over time.
Our concept of art, our concept of the 'work of art' and the idea of an 'autonomous work of art' are irrevocably linked to European modernism.
In the course of this, a very specific concept of 'art' emerged, which increasingly attributed a 'meaning of its own' (its autonomy) to it. At the same time, in keeping with the spirit of the Enlightenment, it was supposed to contribute to the self-realisation and self-improvement of human beings. That was the telos of the 'autonomous work of art'.
Self-realisation has now apparently been taken over by technology, which obeys its own logic, its own laws – and ultimately amounts to the autonomy of all purposes.
And art?
more coming soon!!