Living and Working
On the Normalization of Artistic Work
Artists live and work. This sentence with corresponding place name introduces the short text that accompanies practically every exhibition, media release, or grant application. The information inevitably provokes geographical and cultural allocations: known or unknown, center or periphery, and sometimes several places—possibly as an indication of cosmopolitan mobility. In addition, the information seems to reassure a potential public: artists live and work, too. As mundane as this observation might seem at first glance, it proves most telling upon inquiring into the perception of artistic work as being normal— and yet quite special, after all. Read more…