How Is Art History Made?

What makes a great artist? What makes a great artwork? Beauty? Emotion? Content? Originality? Novelty? Chance? Sensitivity? Genius? Rarity? Price? Who defines these values and how are these judgements made? Curators? Art Historians? Critics? Artists? Art Dealers? Collectors? Museums? How is art history made? What are the underlying mechanisms and rules? Are they the same everywhere at all times in all societies and all periods? How do you think art history is made?

Was macht einen bedeutenden Künstler aus? Was macht ein bedeutendes Kunstwerk aus? Schönheit? Gefühl? Inhalt? Originalität? Neuigkeit? Zufall? Sensibilität? Genie? Seltenheit? Preis? Wer legt diese Wertzuschreibung fest und von wem werden diese Urteile gefällt? Kuratoren? Kunsthistoriker? Kritiker? Kunsthändler? Sammler? Museen? Wie entsteht Kunstgeschichte? Welches sind die zugrunde liegenden Mechanismen und Regeln? Sind diese überall und fortwährend dieselben in allen Gesellschaften und zu allen Zeiten? Was denkenSie, wie entsteht Kunstgeschichte?

Cosa e' che fa un grande artista? Cos' è che fa di un' opera un capolavoro? Bellezza? Emozione? Contenuto? Originalità? Novità? Caso? Sensibilità? Genio? Rarità? Prezzo? Chi definisce questi valori e come si creano questi giudizi? Curatori? Storici dell'arte? Critici? Artisti? Mercanti d'arte? Collezionisti? Musei? Come si fa la storia dell'arte? Quali sono i meccanismi e le regole alla base? Sono questi gli stessi ovunque in ogni momento in tutte le società e tutte le epoche? Come pensa che la storia dell'arte sia fatta?Listen

Qu'est-ce qui fait un grand artiste ?  Qu'est-ce qui fait une grande oeuvre d'art ? La beauté ? L'émotion ? Le sujet ? L'originalité ? La nouveauté ? Le hasard ? La sensibilité ? Le génie ? La rareté ? Le prix? Qui définit ces valeurs? Les conservateurs ? Les historiens d'art ? Les critiques ? Les artistes ? Les marchands d'art ? Les collectionneurs ? Les musées ? Selon quels critères, avec quelles procédures, quelles méthodes ? Comment écrit-on l'histoire de l'art ? Quels sont ses mécanismes, ses règles ? Sont-elles les mêmes partout, dans toutes les sociétés et à toutes les époques ?  Et vous ? Comment pensez-vous que l'histoire de l'art se fait ?

¿Qué es lo que hace a un gran artista? ¿Qué es lo que hace que una obra de arte sea importante? ¿La belleza? ¿La emoción? ¿El contenido de la obra? ¿Su originalidad? ¿Su novedad? ¿El azar? ¿La sensibilidad? ¿El genio? ¿La rareza? ¿El precio? ¿Cómo se crean estos juicios de valor y quién define estos valores? ¿Los comisarios de arte? ¿Los historiadores del arte ? ¿Los galeristas? ¿Los museos? ¿Cómo se crea la historia del arte? ¿Cuáles son las reglas y los mecanismos ocultos? ¿Son estos siempre los mismos, en todas las sociedades y en todas épocas? ¿Cómo piensas que se crea la historia del arte?

Wat maakt iemand tot een groot kunstenaar?   Wat maakt iets tot een groots kunstwerk? Schoonheid? Emotie? Inhoud? Originaliteit? Noviteit? Toeval? Sensitiviteit? Genie? Zeldzaamheid? Prijs? Wie bepaalt deze waarden en hoe komen deze oordelen tot stand? Zijn dat curatoren? Kunsthistorici? Critici? Kunstenaars? Kunsthandelaren? Verzamelaars? Musea? Hoe wordt kunstgeschiedenis gemaakt? Wat zijn de onderliggende mechanismen en regels? Zijn ze overal te allen tijde hetzelfde in alle samenlevingen en in alle tijdperken? Hoe denk jìj dat kunstgeschiedenis wordt gemaakt?

Stichting Egress Foundation, Amsterdam    www.egressfoundation.net

Kunsthalle Basel    www.kunsthalle.ch

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Is A Theory of Art History Possible?

How Is Art History Made? is an open-ended critical research project organized by the Stichting Egress Foundation, Amsterdam, in association with the Kunsthalle Basel.

The project was launched in Basel during the Basel Art Fair in June 2011 with a city-wide distribution of a multi-language poster in Basel, a press conference at the Kunsthalle Basel, and discussion held as part of of the "Art Salon" talk series with the participation of Seth Siegelaub, Adam Szymczyk  (Director of Kunsthalle Basel), and Monika Szewczyk (Writer and curator; head of publications at Witte de With, Rotterdam). Gratis copies of the poster are available in the entrance lobby of the Kunsthalle Basel.

The purpose of the project is to attempt to develop an understanding of the mechanisms behind the determination of quality in art, especially during the 20th and 21th centuries, but also in the earlier historical periods. Although almost everyone involved in the world of art has wondered privately from time-to-time about the question, "Why is artist X considered more important than artist Y?", it continues to remain a hidden obscure subject, often taken for granted, and is hardly ever addressed in a public forum.

With this project it is our intention to try to provoke an open discussion by publicly raising the question of power in the art world and the accumulation of artistic capital by harvesting the opinions from different participants in the art community, initially via feedback through this website (see below) to bring together a range of thoughts dealing with this issue which could eventually lead to a synthesis of ideas and perhaps a formal theory or, at least, a working hypothesis. In the near future we will begin to publish here a more structured series of hypotheses dealing with these questions.

For a 46' video of the Art Salon talk on "How Is Art History Made?" held at the Basel Art Fair on 19 June 2011 with Seth Siegelaub, Monika Szewczyk (writer and curator, Rotterdam), and Adam Szymczyk (Director, Kunsthalle Basel) click here

To receive information and updates about this project and related art projects just click on feedback at the top of this page and fill out the form (check "Contemporary Art") with your name and email address. Or you can send us an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.