Serda Ceren Sağbaş 25 February 2009

20600069
FA 172 Introduction to Art and Culture II (section 09)
Assignment#1

“The artist is not responsible to anyone. His social role is asocial; his only

responsibility consists in an attitude, an attitude to the work he does. The artwork comes into

being in the artist’s head, and it stays in the artist’s head. There is no communication with any

public whatsoever. The artist can ask no questions, and he makes no statement; he offers no

information, message or opinion. He gives no help to anyone, and his work cannot be used.”

George Baselitz

The passage of Baselitz consists of many strict ideas and he defines an art, an artist

also a perspective. I disagree with his arguments about the relation between public and an

artist. First of all, there is a function of art and an artist in society like all people. We cannot

separate artists from public. Additionally, if art is basically a way of communication with

other people, we cannot think artists like people who don’t have any message or opinion. On

the contrary, they have many responsibilities and social functions in society also they have

perspective and they need to give a message thanks to their artworks.

There is a grouping to understand artists’ social roles in societies. There are artists as

skilled worker, intellectual, entrepreneur, social critic and social healer. However, the

grouping creates some myths and I think that we can agree Baselitz’s ideas only when we

accept these myths as truth. One of these myths is about Dada artists who seem as

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rule- breakers in many societies. This means that being a rule-breaker reminds us being

asocial and lacking communication with any public. However, I strongly believe that an artist

is one of the society and piece of it. There is another myth that entrepreneurs are interested in

fame. I don’t believe the myth too because many artists have already had fame but this isn’t

about their interests, this is about being artist. Even if the myth reflects truth, we cannot

accept the sentence “the artwork stays in the artist’s head”. An artist should conduct his

feelings, messages, arguments etc. to people to be understood or to express himself.

Another myth is about the artists as social critic. According to this myth, artists are

social outcast that is to say they are asocial. In my opinion, many artists have original

personality so it makes difference between them and public. However, it doesn’t mean they

are asocial or outcast.

As a consequence of these myths, a big misunderstanding occurs among people. All

these arguments of George Baselitz are unacceptable because his arguments are based on

myths. Lastly, myth means a popular belief, half-truth story that has become associated with a

person, institution, or occurrence.

Bibliography: http://www.dictionary.com (the definition of myth)