“Art has been valued and given importance through the artist, regarded as the one who creates something wondrous and beautiful. At a certain point, artists within that way of thinking often distance themselves more and more from the community and society. In Thai education, this system of teaching and learning art is still being used.”
“When art is no longer the center of the universe, then artists are not either. This has been a question asked of artists since the time of Walter Benjamin. He spoke about this long ago, and it has been written about for a long time.
“In the modernist view, the artist was seen as something close to a superhuman — exalted as someone with supreme specialness, with an intuition that could not be explained. When the artist was elevated above us, above the university guard or the noodle vendor next door, the artist became like a kind of demi-god, regarded as more special than anyone else.
“In fact, in contemporary thought, the artist is like a motorcycle taxi driver — it’s just another profession. We work within a framework of knowledge that is not some kind of miracle. And art itself depends on other bodies of knowledge.”
Jiradej Meemalai Co-founder of ‘Baan Noorg Collaborative Arts & Culture’
“เมื่อศิลปะไม่เป็นศูนย์กลางจักรวาล ศิลปินก็จะไม่เป็นด้วย ซึ่งศิลปินเคยถูกตั้งคำถามนี้มาตั้งแต่สมัย Benjamin Walter เขาพูดเรื่องนี้มานานแล้ว หนังสือก็เขียนมานานแล้ว
“The job of the artist is to make the world visible.”
David Park (1911-1960) Boy in Striped Shirt signed and dated ‘Park 59’ (upper left); titled ‘BOY IN STRIPED SHIRT’ (on the overlap) oil on canvas 50 x 36 in. (127 x 91.4 cm.) Painted in 1959. Price realised USD 1,323,750
“Christie’s is closing its digital art department and has parted ways with Nicole Sales Giles, the auction house’s vice president of digital, Now Media reported Monday.”
Bischoff, who in 1976 told Paul Karlstrom: “I’m still supporting myself by teaching,” had only two one man shows before his first New York show at Staempfli Gallery in 1960, including a 1955 show at the Paul Kantor Gallery in Los Angeles from which nothing sold. In contrast, leading artists in New York benefitted from a booming art market. For example, Willem de Kooning’s 1959 New York show sold out on the first day, bringing in about $150,000 (about $1.2 million dollars today, when adjusted for inflation).
Of course, de Kooning was a sensation, but many other New York artists sold well while California artists struggled. In this situation, decently paying teaching jobs were a rare and precious commodity. When it was rumored in 1955 that David Park had been offered $10,000 per year to teach at UC Berkeley, artist Nathan Oliveira – who at the time was earning $2.50 per hour teaching art 18 hours per week – thought that Park had been given “the opportunity of a lifetime.” As it turns out, Park’s actual starting annual salary was $5,300.00.
Elmer Bischoff Seated Figure in Garden 1958 Oil on canvas 47 ¾ × 56 3/4in. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
“So, while many are keen to talk things down, the reality is more nuanced. Indeed, this isn’t the first time the U.S. art market has asked itself such questions. ‘The art world has an enormous capacity for reinvention,’ said Robb. ‘We’re all creative. We’re representing creatives. We’re creative in our own ways. This is an opportunity for some exciting change to take shape.’”
