YOU MAKE ART TO FUCK THE SYSTEM? OH GREAT HOW MUCH IS THAT?

Much conceptual art of the 1970s and 1980s was motivated by a desire to circumvent or subvert the commodity-based art market. Now, paradoxically, it is exactly this intellectual overlay of self-conscious resistance to the purely visual that collectors and curators desire. “For many art world insiders and art aficionados of other kinds, concept-driven art is a kind of existential channel through which they bring meaning to their lives.” The art world can often be “opaque and downright secretive”, Dr Thornton observes, and she detects “status anxiety” at every level. Yet almost everyone she interviews comes across as intelligent, witty, reflective and eloquent in their affirmation of art’s higher values. This may be partly a result of her willingness to return respectfully to her interviewees and allow them an opportunity to refine, embellish or expand on their original thoughts.

The Art Newspaper
Oct 29 2008