Art World Research Articles

‘People don’t buy art, they buy artists’: Robot artists – work, identity, and expertise

This article critically examines the construction of the artistic identity and career of Ai-Da, ‘the world's first ultra-realistic humanoid robot artist’. Engaging with scholarship on posthumanism and creative assemblages, and creative work, identity and expertise, this article conceptualises Ai-Da's distinctive positioning and focuses on the practices used to construct a creative worker identity and career. The article uses qualitative content analysis to examine journalistic coverage, promotional and presentation activities, exhibitions and performances, and social media postings over a four-year period from Ai-Da’s first launch to international visibility. The analysis shows how Ai-Da is positioned as a high-profile, border crossing artist, engaging in debates about Artificial Intelligence (AI), art, and the environment. It considers the creative assemblage of Ai-Da as a humanoid robot artist, the creator Aidan Meller and the team working with him, and the wider contextual factors of aesthetic expertise, networks and knowledge of art worlds which have shaped Ai-Da's artistic identity and career trajectory. The focus on how Ai-Da signals expertise on social media helps to frame the specific techniques used to speak about and for Ai-Da on social media platforms and wider media coverage. This includes articulating inspiration, showcasing artistic processes and cultivating audience relationships. In concluding, the implications of connecting critical perspectives on creative work with developments in art, AI and robot artists are explored: firstly, for understanding how the practices for constructing an artistic identity shape the development of robot artists; secondly, for understanding how developments in art and AI can frame reflections on artistic identity and careers.

HOW TO NETWORK CULTURE: THE ANALYSIS OF THE ECOSYSTEM OF LATVIAN MUSIC FIELD

The study on the ecosystem of the Latvian music field was carried out within the framework of the CARD project (“the Cultural Capital as a Resource for Sustainable Development of Latvia”) implemented by the Institute of Arts and Cultural Studies of the Latvian Academy of Culture (LAC). One of the tasks of the CARD project was to analyse the cultural ecosystem of Latvia and identify its operator groups, their relationships, and impacts in order to assess the resources of the arts and cultural capital in Latvia [LAC 2020]. Based on initial research, it was suggested to focus on a smaller-scale ecosystem and a specific sub-sector [Laķe, Kunda & Tjarve 2022]. Therefore, this article examines the case of the Latvian music field within the cultural ecosystem of Latvia, as it encompasses a wide range of diverse operator groups. The key theoretical concept used in the research is “ecosystems” – the idea of culture as an ecology that reveals a larger system in a non-hierarchical way [Holden 2015]. In the sociology of art, perceiving culture as a larger system with many equal components is not new; for instance, Howard Becker’s art worlds are based on networks and the distribution of key resources within them [Becker 1974; 1982]. John Holden’s concept of the ecology of culture provides further methodological tools to analyse cultural networks within an ecosystem. The approach suggested by Holden is social network analysis (SNA) [Holden 2015]. While in theory, social network analysis (SNA) holds potential benefits for studying a cultural ecosystem, empirical studies on its application for measuring a cultural ecosystem and its associated limitations remain incomplete. The aim of the paper is to analyse the advantages and limitations of studying a cultural ecosystem using SNA. Two research questions are set: (1) How to analyse the ecosystem of Latvian music field and identify the main operator groups and their relationships? (2) What are the advantages and limitations of employing SNA to study the ecosystem of the Latvian music field? The results contribute to advancing methodological skills in both studying cultural ecosystems and developing SNA in the cultural field.

The mimesis of everyday experience The influence on John Dewey’ Thought in American socially engaged art


 
 
 The text aims to analyze the concept of “mimesis” as an artistic practice of transformation of the ordinary within the so-called “socially engaged” and “community-based art prac- tices” in the United States since the 1990s. As a theoretical reference, the text explores the concept of experience expressed by the American philosopher John Dewey in his Art as Experience (1934), subsequently taken up by various curators and artists such as Mary Jane Jacob, Mark Dion and Pablo Helguera.
 Since the 1990s, within the world of contemporary art a social and participatory trend has developed founding its place of action in the urban space and with marginalized commu- nities as active participants. Given the collaborative attitudes, these actions soon took the name of practices moving away, even in a theoretical way, from public art and from any other type of authorial intervention in the public space. In the 2000s the critical discourse moved to the field of the value of social action (Kester, Bishop), or how to judge or not the artistry of a process that does not produce authorial works, has no spectators and takes place outside the artistic system proper. This is because these practices are based on an interdisciplinary theory which, moving from pedagogical and activist foundations, found in the thought of John Dewey its first moment of conjunction with artistic theory to the point of being recognized as a direct source for several artists and curators who worked between the 90s and 2000s. The geographical centre of this discourse is the United States as the role played by progressive education formalized in the early 1900s laid the foun- dations for an educational model that has also permeated artistic practice.
 
 

МІКРОПОЕТИКА ВІДТВОРЕНОГО: РОЗГАДКА ТЕКСТУ «ФРАНКЕНШТЕЙН, АБО СУЧАСНИЙ ПРОМЕТЕЙ» МЕРІ ШЕЛЛІ

Background. The article focuses on the study of microelements that affect the artistic structure of the work and its understanding. The key problem is determining the role and importance of these microelements in creating a general artistic impression of the text. In the course of the research, we sought to determine how micropoetic details of reproduction influence the perception of the plot and symbolism in Mary Shelley's novel, revealing their essence in the context of the author's literary skill. The work was aimed at revealing the importance of micropoetics for the study and interpretation of «Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus» and determining its influence on the artistic integrity of the work.
 The purpose. The purpose of this investigation is to consider and analyze micropoetic elements in the text of the novel «Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus» by Mary Shelley. An attempt was made to reveal what specific small details affect the artistic structure of the work and how they are perceived by the reader. The main goal was to reveal the role of micropoetic means in the creation of a literary work, to understand their influence and meaning for the reader.
 Methods. Literary analysis, cultural context and psychoanalytic analysis were used to solve the tasks. These approaches and research methods allowed us to reveal the interrelationships of micropoetic elements in the work as a whole and to more deeply understand its semantic nuances.
 Results. The successful disclosure of microelements made it possible to determine their importance in creating an artistic structure and influence on the overall narrative of the novel. It was discovered how specific details of the play affect the unfolding of themes and symbolism in Frankenstein. The study revealed how micropoetics influences the creation of Mary Shelley's unique artistic world in this novel. It is determined how these details affect the perception and interpretation of the work by readers, giving them the opportunity to dive deeper into the text. The results indicate the relevance of the study of micropoetics in literary studies and the importance of its study for the understanding and analysis of literary texts. The obtained results are designed to expand our understanding of the role of micropoetics in the work of Mary Shelley and its contribution to the creation of literary masterpieces.
 Discussion. Research has confirmed the importance of small elements in creating the overall impression of Mary Shelley's work. The micro-poetic aspects of the rendering revealed the themes and symbolism more deeply, contributing to a more complete understanding of the text. It was revealed how micropoetic means in creating the world of the work contribute to the formation of a unique author's world in the novel. It was emphasized that micropoetics affects the perception of the work by readers, giving them the opportunity to immerse themselves more deeply in the artistic text.
 The study of micropoetics can be extended to other works by Mary Shelley and other authors for comparative analysis.

The Exploration of Emotional Aspects of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Artistic Design

The article explores the emotional aspect of artificial intelligence in art and design. With technological advancements, AI has shown tremendous potential in the realm of artistic creation. Firstly, the article reviews the development of AI in art and design, introducing applications of technologies such as generative art, deep learning, and generative adversarial networks. Secondly, it delves into the emotional dimension of AI in artistic design. Despite significant progress in learning and imitating artistic styles, AI's expression of emotions remains limited to simulating programs and data, creating a gap with human emotional experiences. However, by learning from human aesthetic experiences, AI utilizes universally recognized emotional symbols in artistic works, evoking aesthetic resonance among audiences. Furthermore, the article emphasizes the importance of human designers in the creative process and the potential for collaboration between AI and humans. Lastly, it discusses the future possibilities wherein AI, as technology advances, may enter an era of strong artificial intelligence, potentially disrupting the ecosystem of art and design. Although AI might acquire emotional and creative capabilities in the future, the emotional experiences and unique creativity of human creators remain irreplaceable. Therefore, the future of art and design might be a product of collaboration between humans and AI, opening new spaces for exploration and contemplation in the art world.

PERSON IN THE ARTISTIC PICTURE OF THE MODERN WORLD: ARTIST, PICTURE, VIEWER

Abstract. The relevance of the research topic is determined by the significant changes that are taking place in contemporary artistic culture. They are connected, firstly, with the rapid development of information technologies, under the influence of which the format of representation of modern culture is changing, increasingly inclined to the digital form. Secondly, the changes in the processes of development of contemporary culture are connected with the processes of globalization, with the change in the development of humanity. The current viewer has become more educated, and new approaches to him are needed, taking into account the development of his intellectual level, spiritual and cultural needs. In addition, the financial condition of the viewer plays a significant role. The results of numerous surveys conducted in the last 45 years allow us to confidently say that performative arts, such as classical music, opera, live theater and ballet - as a rule, attract educated, wealthy audience, mostly women, and fine and applied arts - wealthy men. Third, the transformations of contemporary culture are, to a large extent, due to the transformation of mass-culture1 into a cultural form. This universality is determined by the fact that any cultural figure becomes in demand, recognizable and interesting to dealers, as well as buyers, only by being presented through mechanisms capable of actively influencing mass culture - such as advertising, fashion, PR - their influence can be clearly traced in classical art. Drawing parallels between the three components of the contemporary art world and identifying changes in their behavior, the author believes that communication in the art business - between the Artist, the Viewer (client) and the Picture - is now very important. All this leads to changes in the selection criteria for buying and selling art itself - "capital" comes first, as more and more works of art are bought by businesses. This is done both to increase business assets, including goodwill by creating a certain reputation, and to facilitate IPO.

Art as Surgery: Hygiene Politics in Zhang Peili’s Glove Art, 1985–91

This article analyzes Chinese video artist Zhang Peili’s latex-glove-themed paintings and conceptual art from the 1980s. It argues that they are an important intervention into post-socialist China’s politicized discussions on art’s role in society. Building on Mel Chen’s discussion of animacy hierarchies as sociopolitical constructs, the article reads Zhang’s latex gloves as animate—transgressing boundaries of “aliveness” between humans and objects. It locates Zhang and his art collective, “Pond” Society, amid mid-1980s discourses on art’s emotional contagiousness, highlighting that the Chinese art establishment’s insistence on Realism and on the Maoist art methodology of “immersion into life” (shenru shenghuo) reflected anxieties about “healthy” art making that could promote national progress. Zhang’s series of X? glove paintings from 1986 onward represent strategic promotions of his medical conceptualization of art. Zhang was infected during the 1988 Shanghai hepatitis A epidemic, and his subsequent glove-themed work called for an embrace of viral life. The figure of the glove was also central to Zhang’s first two video works, including Document on Hygiene No. 3, which signals a shift away from the insistence that art should reinforce the artist’s authority. Instead, Document uses the gloved hand to reflect on where, in a society obsessed with purity and in an art world obsessed with radicalism, we might fundamentally locate agency. This article shows that the history of contemporary Chinese art cannot be understood without considering artists’ responses to, and contributions in shaping, the deeply politicized notion of hygiene.

Tradition and modernity: Exploring modern ink painting in Malaysia through the cultural identity

This study examines Modern Ink Paintings (MIP) in post-independence Malaysia and demonstrates how Cultural Identity (CI) emerges to express the Chinese ethnic artists’ position within the Chinese diasporic community within a multicultural context. Integrating traditional Chinese ink techniques with local cultural elements and Western Modern Art (WMA) approaches, the notion of hybridity refers more to issues of CI created based on shared cultural values and historical experiences of the Chinese community, serving as an essential experience in the nation-building process of post-colonial Malaysian society. This paper aims to examine modern ink painting in order to demonstrate its significant contribution to the art world of Malaysia. The artists’ considerations reflect broader issues of home and belonging and the revival of “Chineseness” within post-colonial Malaysian society for the Chinese diasporic community living in Malaysia. The research underscores art’s role in nation-building and positions modern ink painting as a testament to the evolving Chinese CI globally.

The New American Painting in Spain. The Critical Reception of an Exhibition

From 1953 onwards, Spanish art was increasingly integrated into the international art world, while the presence of US-American art became frequent in the country. This was the outcome of the 1953 Pact of Madrid between Spain and the United States of America, which helped secure the economic, political and cultural survival of General Franco’s regime in Spain. The exhibition La Nueva Pintura Americana shown in Madrid in the summer of 1958 represented a cultural milestone in the context of Spanish-US politics. From then onwards the cultural exchange between the two countries became more fluid, paving the way for exhibitions of Spanish painting in the US.

“Art world” of yunnan theravada buddhist murals from the perspective of art sociology: A case study based on murals in Jingzhen buddhist temple

From the perspective of art sociology, this article adopts the research paradigm of “art world” and “cultural production” to carry out a case study on murals in Jingzhen Buddhist Temple in Xishuangbanna and explore the “production” and “autoproduction” process of Theravada Buddhist murals, thereby concluding that the “production” of Theravada Buddhist murals is not the achievement of individual painter, but proves to be co-generated by the “art world”, namely the cooperative network composed of members of the Buddhist Temple Affairs Management Committee, the village group, believers, and painter, under the regulations and influence of various realistic social factors; while due to the publicity and sanctity of Theravada Buddhist murals as well as the particularity of its audience, the relevant “autoproduction” has facilitated the continuous sound interaction between the “production” and “autoproduction” of Theravada Buddhist murals.

ЭПАТАЖЕН ЛИ ГЕНИЙ, ОКАЗАВШИЙСЯ ТРАНСГРЕССИВНОЙ ЛИЧНОСТЬЮ?

The object of the study was a genius from the world of art. The research methods were phenomenological and existential onesl. Based on them, the author tries to understand the mechanisms that became the source of the emergence of the masterpiece as new, spiritually significant for humanity. Creativity, being the true existential of the artist’s existence, contributes to his transitions into imaginary worlds. This fact allows us to call a genius a transgressive personality. As a free and volitional act, transgression takes place within the person, involving them in imaginary worlds. The creative mind of a genius, through contemplation and imagination, perceiving various impulses and creatively transforming them, expands spaces, making it possible to touch theessence of existence and convey what is known in a work of art. Transgressive transition for the creator turns out to be a natural practice, allowing one to go beyond the boundaries of what is permitted. But from the outside, the genius, his ideas, emotions, actions and works look provocative, which allows them to be characterized as shocking. Breaking social norms and shocking people around, the genius and theur outrageousness outline new paths for the development of art.

The Social Construction of the Art Brut Market

This article studies the social construction of the art brut market. First, it analyses the genesis of the “art brut” category and the first collection of works of art associated with it, as well as the inclusion of this category in the fight for recognition within the art world. The article then examines the emergence and stabilization of relations of competition and exchange centred on art brut. It shows that the existence of the avant-garde field and the prestige associated with Jean Dubuffet were conditions that made the art brut market possible. It also underlines the effect that the collection of works and the articulation of economic and non-economic factors had on the genesis of market relations.

Relationships. Art-affined physicians, gifted artist patients and the debate on art from a psychiatric context after 1945

In 1945 the artist and art collector J.Dubuffet coined the term Art brut for original works by psychiatric inmates that had been created outside of traditions and art movements. In the following decades these works were at the center of negotiation processes in which not only psychiatrists but also exhibition organizers, gallery owners etc. increasingly became involved. Based on the evaluation of four exemplary pairs of psychiatrists and artist patients (H.Müller-Suur-P.Goesch; M.in der Beeck-E.Spießbach; J.Porret-Forel-A.Corbaz; L.Navratil-R.Limberger), this study explores the field of tension between art and psychiatry after 1945. The results of the subproject "Normal#Crazy Art. Works from aPsychiatric Context between Diagnostics and Aesthetics after 1945" of the German Research Foundation (DFG) research group "Normal#Crazy" (FOR 3031) are based on the evaluation of archival material, estates, interviews with contemporary witnesses and contemporary media. It is shown that different attitudes of the psychiatrists towards "their" artist patients strongly influenced their entry into the art world. In this context, impulses from beyond psychiatry were important in order to expand purely diagnostic views of the works with other approaches. The renewed interest in the individual creativity of patients after 1945 can be understood as areaction to their dehumanization under fascism and National Socialism; however, the focus on the pathologized personality of artist patients could obscure alternative perspectives on their art, just as the disposal of their works by psychiatrists could hinder their dissemination.

VIRTUAL AND AUGMENTED REALITY TECHNOLOGIES IN THE FINE ARTS OF THE FIRST HALF OF THE XXI-ST CENTURY: HISTORIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

The article analyzes the history of VR/AR research in the field of art and design throughout 21st century scientific publications. Use of virtual spaces for the presentation of artworks and enhancement of visitor engagement is not a new addition to cultural space and was experimented with by multiple people, including the author of this article himself. VR is also increasingly often, albeit, still being more of an experimental novelty, used as a tool for teaching and/or learning art and history, sometimes — technical disciplines like engineering or physics. Solely art-focused research, however, is quite lacking in numbers, in part because there aren’t many examples of the use of VR/AR in art and design projects, at least so far, yet there have been a number of different experiments ranging from psychology-adjacent to ones being on the line between art and IT. For the purpose of this article, questions of distinction between “true VR” (fully 3D interactive world experienced through VR gear), virtual environments that do not need VR gear and various types of artificial and mixed reality and differences of between them, especially when it comes to artistic use, will likely be left out for separate discussion. We are more interested in how the art world used, iterated upon and ultimately accepted the freedom and new forms of expression allowed by virtual, augmented and mixed reality technologies. As most notable and expressive works and more importantly scientific research of these works have appeared in the 21st century, we will limit our overview of art-specific papers to this time period. Papers reviewed in this article are divided into four different categories, each with its own general research goal that most of the articles inside the same group share between themselves: virtual museums or galleries and preservation of cultural heritage, artworks and immersive typography, education, behavioral research on the basis of viewer-artwork interactions. With first three categories being well understood, when it comes to the usefulness of research results and experiments themselves, fourth one is exceptionally useful as relatively easy and universal way to “predict” viewer behavior in different circumstances for both gallery owners and artists (gallery layouts, lighting, artwork composition, color contrast between artworks, etc).

A Bird’s-Eye View of the NFT Phenomenon in the Art World and Art Market

A Bird’s-Eye View of the NFT Phenomenon in the Art World and Art Market

Рассказ «Старый учитель» В. С. Гроссмана: анализ мотивной и лексической организации текста

The article is devoted to an analysis of the lexical structure and the system of characters in the text of V. S. Grossman’s short story The Old Teacher. The author of the paper looks at this text in the context of works of Russian literature dealing with the Holocaust. The study examines the lexical means used to create the images of the key characters, the main one of which is an old mathematics teacher living in a city besieged by the Nazis. The author comes to a conclusion that the main compositional-and-stylistic principle in the work under study is opposition, the selection of linguistic material is determined by the oppositions light/darkness, youth/old age, life/death; the main character is depicted with the use of antithesis as he is shown in comparison with and in opposition to other characters. There is a motive of fear in the story, realized through active lexical and derivational repetition of words and phrases with a pronounced seme of fear, which allows us to consider the motive conceptually significant. Through an analysis of text dominants, the study identifies important personality traits of key characters, determines realities that are conceptually significant for the writer’s artistic world. The semantic opposition life/death and the opposition light/darkness, associated with the former, determine the choice of means for depicting objects of opposition; the main one of such means is metaphorization. The article discusses the functions that metaphors perform in the text of the story (pictorial, cognitive, prospective). The analysis identified a lexico-semantic group of words with the common component ‘time’ that are repeated during the characterization of the characters as well as at the beginning and at the end of the text, which indicates significance of this concept for the artistic space of the work. The main character conveys the image of a righteous man, so characteristic of the traditions of Russian literature.

О НЕКОТОРЫХ ОСОБЕННОСТЯХ ПОЭТИЧЕСКОГО ЯЗЫКА ЕЛЕНЫ ШВАРЦ

The article analyses some features of the way Elena Sсhwarz, a representative of Leningrad uncensored poetry, used the means of poetic language. In her texts, most often written in compliance with all the norms of traditional syllabic tonics, she actively practiced form and word – creation, invented new words and sentences without a semantic layer, introduced foreign borrowings, ready-made quotes from other literary works and abusive language. In some cases, she could also conduct experiments with non-standard graphic presentation of text, trying to achieve ideal symmetry. Studying the uniqueness of the poetic idiolect (language means regularly repeated in texts, new verbal constructions, whole words or forms of words, syntactic constructions) of one of the “uncensored” Leningrad authors helps the reader to better understand how her artistic world was created.

«Правда» в исследовательских работах А.П. Скафтымова о Достоевском

The article explores the works of classical literary critic Skaftymov concerning Dostoevsky. Its aim is to provide an initial definition of the concept of “pravda,” as used in Skaftymov’s scholarly works. The meaning of this concept evolves from a student essay to the completion of the final work about the writer. “Pravda” is understood as the ethical and ontological foundation of an individual rooted in Christ’s love. It is closely tied to the ideas present in Dostoevsky’s works, where the ultimate expression of “pravda” is found in forgiveness and love. Forgiveness and love serve as the functional essence of characters such as Prince Myshkin from the novel The Idiot and Liza (the heroine of the story Notes from Underground). Prince Myshkin epitomizes Dostoevsky’s truth, living with a lovingly open acceptance of existence, a comprehension of human pride and forgiveness, compassion, and a keen sense of moral well-being. Similarly, Lise embodies “true” characteristics, including selfless heartfelt sympathy, the capacity for self-sacrifice, and moral sensitivity. These qualities are also found in Dostoevsky’s “proud” characters, who yearn for brotherly love but struggle to attain it. Skaftymov portrays the state of these “true” heroes in Dostoevsky’s artistic world as akin to Orthodox righteousness. The concept of “pravda” in Skaftymov’s interpretation is considered as a free law of life, emphasizing love and forgiveness as fundamental principles in Dostoevsky’s work.

Центральные образы и мотивы поздних стихотворений Геннадия Шпаликова (статья первая)

The material of the late poems by G. Shpalikov, one of the prominent representatives of poetry during the Khrushchev Thaw era, is singled out and examined in terms of the sphere of key images and motifs in the poet’s artistic world, which are encoded by the ontological-tragic situation of the lyrical subject in the enclosed chronotope of society. The central motifs of Shpalikov’s work during this period have been identified: motifs of loneliness, rootlessness, abandonment, vulnerability, farewell, hopelessness, and suicide. The semantic structure of the artistic world of the late (and not only late) poems is marked by a ternary model of “nature — human — civilization/society.” The movement of the “plot” in most late poems is determined by the internal catastrophic change in the psychological state of the lyrical subject, seeking voluntary departure from life, which is reflected in the expressive, emotionally evaluative, and reduced lexicon, the tightness of poetic lines, and tense syntax.

Художник-шпион в рассказе В. Набокова «Ассистент режиссера»: репрезентация сенсорного и эстетического опыта

he article is devoted to the analysis of The Assistant Producer, Vladimir Nabokov’s first short story in English. The study explores how V. Nabokov interprets the problem of the author’s identity in foreign readers’ audience. The structural-semiotic and intertextual methods are used in the paper to identify the narrative techniques organizing the intrigue in the short story: the exposure of the character as a triple agent and the narrator as an artist. The narrator focuses on the optical and sound effects of cinema as well as on the foreign accent in other characters’ speech. These peculiarities of the narrator’s perception show his perceptive and language sensitiveness inherent in an artist. The pseudo-documental cinema world includes the legends of Stepan Razin, portraits by impressionists and post-impressionists, and emigre literature. The artistic world is constructed through the images conveying the aberrations of perception, smells and the senses of touch, which are difficult to verbalize, unmotivated alliterations, allusions that are hard to interpret for foreign readers. Perceptive images and literary allusions construct the plot about the communicative mistake: from the narrator’s point of view, the cinema shows the world of Russian emigre inaccurately, but it reveals the banality of the intentions of the character-executioner. V. Nabokov assesses incompleteness as a key characteristic of intercultural communication, motivated by the differences in recipients’ sensorial and reading experience. V. Nabokov’s strategy is to highlight the inexpressible characteristics of his sensorial and creative (reading and writing) experience. Communicative mistakes inspire co-creative reading. At the beginning of his American career, V. Nabokov develops the idea that a genius writer can convey his sensorial, aesthetic, and language experience despite the communicative borders.