Abstract
The literature review here presented aims to characterize artists’ precarity in the context of their social integration, along with that precarity’s consequences, the artists’ reactions it provoques and possible ways to counter act it. Using an interdisciplinary approach, the review is based on specialized research literature from psychology, sociology and economy of art. As the review shows, besides being specially affected by professional precarity, most artists are also exposed to ontological precarity, under the form of pressures on their creative work. Both forms of precarity stem from the nature of the artists’ social integration, a critical process in attempting survivance, recognition and identity consolidation and which involves complex interactions with a variety of social players. Altought experienced in multiple ways, artists’ precarity entails risky material and psychological consequences, also affecting the artistic creative process. Finally, artists’ precarity can be counteracted through specific personal coping strategies, along with possible changes in the system.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
Just graduated artists’ social integration can be taken as a specific case of general human adaptation to transition, which accordingly to the model of Schlossberg (1981, p. 5), involves dealing with a change, in order to adapt, on the basis of perception of the transition, a pretransition and posttransitation environment and a set of individual characteristics.
- 2.
Aljena (2015, Fig. 1., p. 140) also synthetizes the different players in the art world in a model labeled as “Ecosystem of contemporary fine art”.
- 3.
Just graduated artists’ professional integration is a specific case of the general phenomenon of school-to-work transition, which (along its psychosocial outcomes) can be problematic. This transition, exposed to a macroeconomic rising reduction of opportunities and of flexible employment, receives the influence of a variety of factors: institutional filtering; transition demands; economic, social and personal resources, like parental support, ability and motivation; and individual coping and adjustment (Schoon and Silbereisen 2008, p. 8).
- 4.
General precarity at the work level has been defined (Brophy 2006; Waite 2009) as the experience of precariousness under material uncertainty and instability due to flexible employment arrangements. Precarious employment has also been defined as involving low wages and work intensification (Benach et al. 2014; Vosko 2006, as cited in Bain and McLean 2012) and lack of work rights, protection and recognition (Benach et al. 2014). According to Standing (2011) work precarity originated an heterogeneous “class-in-the making” of a precarious proletariat (“precariat”), below the working class, to which professional security is denied (i.e., absence of income-earning opportunities, stable wage, social security, non-arbitral dismissal, chances of developing skills and career and absence of a collective voice).
- 5.
Subsidising artistic work with the production of commercial art works is prodigal in many photographers, as Edward Weston did with portraiture before “freeing” to Mexico (cf. Becker 2008).
- 6.
Although this text focus on artists’ precarity it should be mention that, also due to the nature of the arts, that kind of precarity affects not only the artist but other key members of the art world. For instance, art support personnel (e.g., art executers or art technicians) often work under project-allocated contracts on a free-lance system, without a steady work and nothing more to protect their work than their reputation (Becker 2008).
- 7.
Not by chance, the 1970 s transformation of capitalism into neoliberalism—that trying to respond to global competition, technological advancement and a changing labour force produced a change of employment relationships and chronic work precarity (Merolli 2012, as cited in Blustein et al. 2016)—was inspired by the supposed attributes of artistic activity (assimilated therefore as the ones of the aimed new worker, Boltanski and Chiapello 2005, as cited in Lazzarato 2011; Osten 2011; Virno 2004, as cited in Lorey 2011). These are concepts related to “creativity”, “flexibility”, “mobility”, “spontaneity”, “autonomy”, “self-motivation”, “entrepreneurship”, “self-responsibility” and “loft habitation”.
- 8.
Obliged to Peter Hermann for this reference.
- 9.
- 10.
Obliged to Wolfgang Lind for inspiration on this idea, in one of many eight o’clock morning coffee talks.
References
Aljena, A. (2015). Why contemporary fine art artists are starving in Latvia? Journal of Business Management 10, 139–148. URL: http://www.academia.edu/19769193/WHY_CONTEMPORARY_FINE_ART_ARTISTS_ARE_STARVING_IN_LATVIA. Last accessed: 28 October 2018.
Artazcoz, L., Benach, J., Borrell, C., & Cortès, I. (2005). Social inequalities in the impact of flexible employment on different domains of psychosocial health. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 59, 761–767. doi:10.1136/jech.2004. 028704.
Bain, A., & McLean, H. (2012). The artistic precariat. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 6(1), 93–111. doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/cjres/rss020.
Bain, A. (2005). Constructing an artistic identity. Work, Employment, and Society, 19, 25–46. doi:doi.org/10.1177/0950017005051280.
Becker, H. S. (2008) Art Worlds, 2nd ed.. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Benach, J. & Muntaner, C. (2007). Precarious employment and health: developing a research agenda. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 61, 276–277.https://doi.org/10.1136/jech.2005.045237.
Benach, J., Puig-Barrachina,V., Vives, A., Tarafa, G. & Muntaner,C. (2012). The challenge of monitoring employment-related health inequalities. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 66, 1085–1087.https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2012-201103.
Benach, J., Vives, A., Amable, M., Vanroelen, C., Tarafa, G. & Muntaner, C. (2014). Precarious employment: understanding an emerging social determinant of health. Annual Review of Public Health, 35, 229–253. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-032013-182500
Benhamou, F. (2011). Artists’ labour markets. In R. Towse (Ed.) A handbook of cultural economics, 2nd. ed. (pp. 53–66). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited
Blustein, D. L. (2006). The psychology of working: a new perspective for career development, counseling and public policy. NewYork, NY: Routledge.
Blustein, D. L. (2011). A relational theory of working. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 79, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2010.10.004
Blustein, D. L., Kozan, S. & Connors-Kellgren, A. (2013). Unemployment and underemployment: a narrative analysis about loss. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 82, 256–265. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2013.02.005.
Blustein, D. L., Olle, C., Connors-Kellgren, A., Diamonti, A. J., Sartori, R., & Pouyaud, J. (2016). Decent work: a psychological perspective. Frontiers In Psychology, 7, 407. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00407.
Bourdieu, P. (1987). La révolution impressionniste, Noroit, 303, 3–18.
Bourdieu, P. (1996). The rules of art, genesis and structure of the literary field. Cornwall: Stanford University Press.
Brophy, E. (2006). System error: labour precarity and collective organizing at Microsoft. Canadian Journal of Communication, 31, 619–638. Doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.22230/cjc.2006 v31n3a1767.
Capiau, S. & Wiesand, A. J. (2006). The status of artists in Europe. Brussels: European Parliament & Ericarts.
Carita, A. (2017, February 18). Uma luta contínua chamada arte [A continuous struggle called art]. E – A revista do Expresso, pp. 52–57.
Christopherson, S. (2008). Beyond the self-expressive creative worker: an industry perspective on entertainment media. Theory, Culture, and Society, 25, 73–95. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0263276408097797.
Clarke, M., Lewchuk, W., deWolff, A. & King, A. (2007).‘This just isn’t sustainable’: precarious employment, stress and workers’ health. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 30, 311–326. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlp.2007.06.005
Conde, I. (May, 2009 11–14). Artists as vulnerable workers. Paper presented at the 3rd International Sociology Conference, Athens.
Csíkszentmihályi, M. (1999). Implications of a systems perspective for the study of creativity. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Handbook of human creativity (pp. 313–338). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Davis, H. M. (1989). Bees on the tomb of Urban VIII. Notes in the History of Art, 8/9(4/1), 40–48. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/sou.8_9.4_1.23202696
DiMaggio, P. J. (1991). Constructing organizational fields as a professional project: U.S. art museums, 1920–1940. In W. Powell & P. J. DiMaggio (Eds.), The new institutionalism in organizational analysis (pp. 267–292). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Dickie, G. (1984). The art circle: a theory of art. New York: Haven.
Duarte, A. M. (2016, Abril 6–8). Design of a research program on young adults’ position regarding precarity. Paper presented at the International Conference Precarious Places: Social, Cultural and Economic Aspects of Uncertainty and Anxiety in Everyday Life, Warsaw.
Frey, B. S. (2011). Public support. In R. Towse (Ed.) A handbook of cultural economics, 2nd. ed. (pp. 370–377). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited.
Frey, C. B. & Osborne, M. (2013). The future of employment: how susceptible are jobs to computerisation? Oxford: University of Oxford - Oxford Martin Programme on Technology and Employment.
Garcia, E. E. (2004). Rachmaninoff and Scriabin: Creativity and suffering in talent and genius. Psychoanalytic Review, 91(3), 433–442. https://doi.org/10.1521/prev.91.3.423.38305.
Getzels, J. W. & Csíkszentmihályi, M. (1976). The creative vision: a longitudinal study of problem finding in art. New York: Wiley.
Glass, P. (2015). Words without music – A memoir. New York: Liveright Publishing Company.
Gurgand, M. & Menger, P. M. (1996). Work and compensated unemployment in the performing arts. Exogenous and endogenous uncertainty in artistic labour markets. In V. Ginsburgh & P.M. Menger (Eds.), Economics of the Arts (pp. 347–81). Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Haabing, H. (2002). Why are artists poor? The exceptional economy of the arts. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
Haabing, H. (2011). Poverty and support for artists. In R. Towse (Ed.) A handbook of cultural economics, 2nd. ed. (pp. 344–349). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited.
Heinich, N. (1998a). Le triple jeu de l’art contemporain. Paris: Minuit.
Heinich, N. (1998b). The sociology of contemporary art: questions of method. In J. Schaeffer (Ed.). Think art. Theory and Practice in the art of today (pp. 65–76). Rotterdam: Witte de With.
Kergel, S. & Hepp, R. D. (2011). Ways of precarisation. In P. Herrmann & S. Kalaycioglu (Eds.), Precarity – more than a challenge of social security or: cynicism of EU’s concept of economic freedom (pp. 112–127). Bremen: EHV.
Kergel, S. (2016, April 6–8). Precarisation of creative work. Paper presented at the International Conference Precarious Places: Social, Cultural and Economic Aspects of Uncertainty and Anxiety in Everyday Life, Warsaw.
Kuster, B. & Tsianos, V. (2011). Experiences without me, or, the uncanny grin of precarity. In G. Raunig, G. Ray & U. Wuggenig (Eds.), Critique of Creativity: Precarity, Subjectivity and Resistance in the ‘Creative Industries’ (pp. 91–99). London: MayFlyBooks.
Lazzarato, M. (2011). The misfortunes of the ‘artistic critique’ and of cultural employment. In G. Raunig, G. Ray & U. Wuggenig (Eds.), Critique of Creativity: Precarity, Subjectivity and Resistance in the ‘Creative Industries’ (pp. 9–21). London: MayFlyBooks.
Lorey, I. (2011). Virtuosos of freedom: on the implosion of political virtuosity and productive labour. In G. Raunig, G. Ray & U. Wuggenig (Eds.), Critique of Creativity: Precarity, Subjectivity and Resistance in the ‘Creative Industries’ (pp. 79–90). London: MayFlyBooks.
Lopes, D. M. (2010). A philosophy of computer art. Oxon: Routtledge.
Luhmann, N. (2000). Art as a social system. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Malenfant, R., LaRue, A. & Vézina, M. (2007). Intermittent work and well-being one foot in the door: one foo tout. Current Sociology 55, 814–835. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011392107081987.
Maranda, M. (2009). Waging culture: a report on the socio-economic status of canadian visual artists. Toronto: The Art Gallery of York University.
McCormack, J. & d’Inverno, M. (Eds.) (2012). Computers and Creativity. Berlin: Springer.
McRobbie, A. (2011). Rethinking creative economies as radical social enterprise. Variant 41, 32–33. URL: http://www.variant.org.uk/41texts/amcrobbie41.html, last accessed: 28. October 2018.
Menger, P.-M. (1999). Artistic labor markets and careers. Annual Review of Sociology, 25, 541–574. doi:doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.25.1.541.
Nowotny, S. (2011). Immanent effects: notes on cre-activity. In G. Raunig, G. Ray & U. Wuggenig (Eds.), Critique of Creativity: Precarity, Subjectivity and Resistance in the ‘Creative Industries’ (pp. 9–21). London: MayFlyBooks.
Oatley, K. (2011). Such stuff as dreams – The psychology of fiction. West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell.
O’Mahony, J. (2001, November 24). When less means more. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com.
Osten, M.-v. (2011). Unpredictable outcomes/ unpredictable outcasts: on recent debates over creativity and the creative industries. In G. Raunig, G. Ray & U. Wuggenig (Eds.), Critique of Creativity: Precarity, Subjectivity and Resistance in the ‘Creative Industries’ (pp. 133–145). London: MayFlyBooks.
Parker, B. (2008). Beyond the class act: gender and race in the ‘creative city’ discourse. Research in Urban Sociology 9, 201–232. doi:https://doi.org/10.1353/fmt.2011.0018.
Ray, G. (2011). Culture Industry and the administration of terror. In G. Raunig, G. Ray & U. Wuggenig (Eds.), Critique of Creativity: Precarity, Subjectivity and Resistance in the ‘Creative Industries’ (pp. 167–180). London: MayFlyBooks.
Schlossberg (1981). A model for analyzing human adaptation to transition. The Counseling Psychologist 9(2), 2–18. https://doi.org/10.1177/001100008100900202.
Schoon, I. & Silbereisen, R. K. (2008). Conceptualising school-to-work transitions in context. In I. Schoon & R. K. Silbereisen (Eds.). Transitions from school to work – Globalization, individualization, and patterns of diversity (pp. 3–29). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Sieg, A. (2011). Theorethical thoughts for psychosocial interventions in precarious working and living conditions. In P. Herrmann & S. Kalaycioglu (Eds.), Precarity – more than a challenge of social security or: cynicism of EU’s concept of economic freedom (pp. 100 – 111). Bremen: Ehv.
Standing, G. (2011). The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class. Huntingdon: Bloomsbury Publishing.
Swanson, J. L. (2012). Work and psychological health, In N. A. Fouad, J. A. Carter & L. M. Subich (Eds.), APA Handbook of counseling psychology (pp. 3–27). Washington, D.C: American Psychological Association.
van Maanen, H. (2009). How to study art worlds. On the societal functioning of aesthetic values. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
Waite, L. (2009). A place and space for a critical geography of precarity. Geography Compass 3, 412–433. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-8198.2008.00184.x.
Withers G. (1985). Artists’ subsidy of the arts, Australian Economic Papers, 24, 290–95. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8454.1985.tb00117.x.
Wuggenig, U. (2011).‘Creativity and innovation’ in the nineteenth century: Harrison C. White and the impressionist revolution reconsidered. In G. Raunig, G. Ray & U. Wuggenig (Eds.), Critique of Creativity: Precarity, Subjectivity and Resistance in the ‘Creative Industries’ (pp. 57–75). London: MayFlyBooks.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Duarte, A.M. (2020). Artists’ Precarity in the Context of Their Social Integration. In: Rachwał, T., Hepp, R., Kergel, D. (eds) Precarious Places. Prekarisierung und soziale Entkopplung – transdisziplinäre Studien. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-27311-8_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-27311-8_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer VS, Wiesbaden
Print ISBN: 978-3-658-27310-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-658-27311-8
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)