Art and Material: The division of labour in the creative process

Together with Bern University of the Arts (HKB), SIK-ISEA is to hold a second symposium within its research programme “Material and Authenticity”. The theme is the division of labour in the production of contemporary art: artists focus increasingly on creating a design or devising a project, then entrust its implementation, at least in part, to specialised companies. The symposium will reflect on this development in art production today and examine the role played in this process by aspects such as technical innovations, the demise of traditional techniques and the mechanisms underlying the art market. Another issue in the spotlight will be how separating design from implementation affects the preservation of the artwork, the concept of authorial copyright and the idea of authenticity.