[2008-09-26] Great Expectations

NT [Nienke Terpsma] OK [Oliver Kielmayer] RH [Rob Hamelijnck]

NT: ... We have the feeling Swiss artists are under extreme pressure to compete and succeed?
OK:Pipilotti Rist became famous overnight in the 1990s. Fischli and Weiss are very high in the world art rankings. I cannot say anything about Ugo Rondinone because I don't understand why he is famous. Somebody from F+F told me all the students want to be like them: superstart. That's their main motivaiton.
RH:To become a superstar, you have to be somebody, and make good art.
OK:Well, the problem is that most of them don't have anything particular to say or to add to the artistic discurse, they just want to be pop stars. And because they can't play the guitar and the can't sing they want to become a superstar artist. An artist can become a millionaire, get to know interesting people, be glamorous, all this. The life of a superstar artist is depicted as something nice. But you are made a superstar, you can't do it yourself. Galleries and curators do it. So to be made a superstar you have to convince at least a few important people. But perhaps only five artists from each country can be a superstar, not more.
RH:Peter Sloterdijk made a street interview with teenagers in Germany and more than 50% said they wanted to become an artist. When he asked why they said: Because you can become rich and famous. And the we read recently that the amount of students studying art rose from 50'000 in 2004 to 80'000 in 2007.
OK:So that's decadence. You want to bea pop star, and if you can't sing you try it as an artist.

Fucking Good Art #20, Swiss Edition, S.215