Conference Stream Work

Since the renaissance, the artist can be understood as a prototype for the capitalist, for a self-made man. The artist of the renaissance is an independent entrepreneur who creates value going beyond simple market value, an ideal value. The artist of the baroque era is an artist who creates and unfolds the world according to the ideas of the ruling elite. The modern artist does not like to be distinguished from the architect or designer any longer; in the factory, he transforms individually romantic goods to an amalgam irresistible to the masses. Today's networked society of information, driven by a new material – data – expects a new type of artist: an artist who gives shape to this new material, moulding it while asking about its societal meaning. The idea of a genius artist and author who creates invaluable originals to entertain a small community, remains only a faint shadow these days. What tasks and roles are left for the artist once today's world is completely measured and algorithmically managed? What idea of art is left for us after the accelerated concurrence of production, distribution and reception in the networked society? In this panel, the panellists will present their artistic positions and reflect on these questions, for example by connecting art with life and body with its data to an business entity, or by transferring the processes of production in the networked society and the algorithmic culture to processed of artistic creation.