Oh, to be an artist...

As the Slovenian sociologist Katja Praznik put it, in neoliberal capitalism, "the meaning of work is no longer a human activity for the sake of survival, but an action through which the individual projects his own personality…”. From the realm of goods and earning bread, work seeps into psychology and leisure, which "serves to justify poorly paid or unpaid 'free work'." However, the unpaid work done in a sporting manner has its price, ironically.

This is not a unique phenomenon, however. In recent years, the concept of the precariat has been appearing more and more frequently in social and economic discourses. The dialogue surrounding the term contains several, partially overlapping and opposing approaches. Accordingly, being part of the precariat denotes a specific, more vulnerable and insecure state compared to "the classic employee status guaranteed by the Fordist production system and the welfare state". It is less about the background or social identity of the individual, "but more about the way in which he thinks about his own future", and accordingly "it crosses several sociological categories, such as ethnicity, gender, nationality, but also socio-economic class". The term can apply to the most diverse forms of exploitation: from illegal, seasonal work to part-time work at home; from flexible working hours to entrepreneurship; from freelance to self-employment - the latter category including cultural workers jumping between projects and artists sustaining themselves from commissioned works and/or sales. This exhibition is focusing specifically on art as work and the artist as worker.

Artistic activity fits perfectly into the neoliberal concept of work being a form of self-expression. The concept of the artist itself did not even exist until the Renaissance - before that, masters performing artistic work were simply referred to as craftsmen. The “artistic genius” appearing in the 19th century provided certain privileges to artists, but its negative impact reverberates to this day as we identify art-making as an expression of innate talent and creative personality. By drawing a parallel with housework, Praznik pointed out that artistic activity is not viewed as a socio-cultural construction, but rather as something rooted in the nature of the subject. Essentialization effectively hides that the way of becoming an artist is dependent on many factors: from the talent management available only in certain cities, by people of a certain social status; or the material and cultural stock provided by the family. Fused with personality, being an artist cannot be described as work; it remains invisible in relation to its own production process. It appears as a gift that falls into our laps for which we pay tribute with admiration - not work that we reward with money. Since autonomous artistic activity typically does not promise a secure livelihood, it is undermined by odd jobs and secondary employment that require extra time.

By placing them on a pedestal, we gloss over the fact that artists are just as ordinary human beings as the rest of us. More and more professionals are trying to draw attention to the issue: thematic exhibitions and performances highlight the way we do not appreciate the process of artistic creation - the work that goes into the object. Art activist projects can be considered as self-reflection and as the criticism of capitalism and of the contemporary institutional system. One possible form of resistance is the closing of the gallery as an artistic gesture: this is how Robert Barry drew attention in 1969 to the depressingly low wages of workers in the sector; while in 2016, Maria Eichhorn closed the Chisenhale Gallery after the "exhibition opening". In 1974, Michael Asher pointed to the same problem when he removed a partition in a commercial gallery in Los Angeles to reveal the work going on behind the scenes. Due to these actions, the invisible work performed by artists and the exploitation of workers in the cultural sector could become part of the discourse. Nowadays, the introduction of basic income (for the arts), as well as the criticism of the institutional system and cultural support is also a subject of debate.

The current exhibition interprets the result of the artistic work not as a product but as a process. We focus on the creation itself, which is not a linear route; instead, it includes a great many turns, forced rests and restarts. The exhibiting artists, represented by Terike from Budapest and Nyolcésfél, introduce specific segments of the birth of their works, and in certain cases, even the artworks refer back to the process of their own creation. They demystify artistic work by highlighting invisible processes; constantly reflecting; and sharing their thoughts and ambivalent feelings towards their profession. Whether it is an individual project of a designer or an autonomous work of a painter, the creative process uses both material and mental resources. By mapping them out, we can get closer to understanding and perhaps resolving the contradictions surrounding the discourse of art as work.

Our exhibition is both about the artists and the factors they have to constantly interact with in order to prevail in the cultural system. In addition, the exhibition also addresses its location and itself, since during the creation of Oh, to be an artist… we experienced the phenomena we are investigating up close. On such a basis, it is worth asking ourselves: to what extent are we forced to reproduce the problems that we want to concretize and highlight?

Artists: Luca BATKE, Judith CORNEJO, Dániel FAZEKAS, Tünde FÜLÖP, Júlia HORVÁTH, Fanni LÁSZLÓ, Rita MADARÁSZ, Rebeka POSTA, Fanni SUTUS, Valentin SZARVAS, Dániel VARGA JANCSÓ

Opening performance and sound installation by Natalie Szende, electroacoustic musician and musicologist.

The exhibition is on view until October 27.

Opening hours: 4-7 PM, every day

Curators: Eszter Albert, Dorottya Balkó, Emese Boglárka Nagy, Cintia Tamás, Dóra Vázsonyi

Communications: Paula Fényes, Panni Horányi

Graphic design: Anna Kocsis

We are grateful for the help of Borbála Véghelyi and Bence Tóth-Meisels.

The exhibition is part of the Budapest Design Week program.

(The exhibition was sponsored by the Art and Design Management MA programme of MOME.)