Famous Artist: Testament to Talent or Connections
https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-artists-famous-friends-originality-work
A study conducted by curators of the MoMa found that artist fame is not necessarily dependent on their creativity, but the size and diversity of their social networks. The study was based on the 80 artists shown in the 2012 exhibition titled “Inventing Abstraction:1910-1925.” Each artist’s fame, social network, and creativity were quantified using historical letters, biographies, databases, and art historians. The results supported the idea that artist with the largest and most diverse networks achieved the most fame regardless of their level of creativity. They found that artist with a network from various countries was most likely to be famous. The age of the artist also contributed: older artists tended to be more prominent. In addition, the results showed that art historians’ expert opinions or computational evaluations were not accurate determinants of artist fame.
When we think of famous art, we imagine a groundbreaking artist whose work catches the attention of critics and the public, but art is the same as every industry. Success is dependent upon connections. Dali was only sent to art school because of the urging of Pichot, an artist who was a close friend of Picasso. Van Gogh’s work matured once he was introduced to the French Impressionists. Lichtenstein’s marriage to a gallery collector gave him a venue to show his work. The same occurred with non- visual artists. Reginald Kenneth Dwight was a backup vocalist for The Bluebelles before he became Elton John. Ernest Hemingway reached his full artistic potential while in Paris, exchanging ideas with fellow writers, artist, and philosophers. This finding pertains to the principle we discussed the first day that an overwhelming amount of people get their job through acquaintances, rather than close friends or family. Finding jobs or success is largely influenced by connections, the more links you have, the greater access you have to different social circles, and ideas. The key to success is networks.