Art production – artist’s studio as a “factory” in an example Joana Vasconcelos’ workshops

Abstract

Article aims to analyse workshop of a modern Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos. The most significant matters raised in text are: the organization of work, including the structure of team, and the commercial business profile. Contemporary artists often have to face the struggle of transferring the idea into material world – this especially concerns works in big scale and one’s using unusual materials or technics, like in Vasconcelos art. Production factors can determine creative/executive processes. After the work is finished it must be promoted, properly transported, stored under satisfactory conditions and finally preserved. The artist remains to be the author of the idea behind each piece, although works are being made without her direct physical action. Scale of the workshop, as much as involving a group of staff, allows to compare this space to the studio of Peter Paul Rubens. Analogy is accurate also on the level of recognition surrounding both artists. Rubens was receiving orders from royal families, while Vasconcelos today creates pieces for Rothschild family, and her studio is being visited by celebrities. Artist has formed a workshop, which can be compared to the factory, due to its organizational aspects – subordination of process to the production order. This meaning is very distant from creative space of work established by Andy Warhol, called with the same name. However, the artist activity shows parallels to pop-art movement and its leading representant by engagement in commercial design or creating artworks for various fashion houses. Joana Vasconcelos continuous to build her brand in commercial world by capitalizing her name, simultaneously she produces art which criticizes capitalism and its wrongdoings. Those actions cannot be observed as hypocrisy but only as sign of awareness considering artists entanglement in different socio-economic conditions of modern world. Instead of taking the anarchist attitude she took those conditions to her own advantage by establishing a name, that makes her voice more significant.