Article : "Scandal and the Artist’s Ethics, Between Aesthetics and Politics: From Brancusi to Catellan"
pour Homo Oeconomicus 30(3): 385-400 •(Winter 2013/2014, Munich)
Maurizio Cattelan, La Nona Ora, 1999 © Courtesy galerie Emmanuel Perrotin
Abstract: To understand the complexity and diversity of forms of artistic scandal, we will analyse some iconic and paradigmatic works of the twentieth century. Through these non-exhaustive choices, we will try to understand what is involved in artistic scandals in a positive way for artistic practice. The evolution of the political dimension of artistic scandals in its dialectical relationship to aesthetics will draw a common thread running from Brancusi to Cattelan. Based on an analytical method taking into account the mode of presentation during a specific period, the reception of the artwork will form the obstacle against which aesthetic and/or political values stumble. Beyond the commitment of the artist, an artistic scandal reveals a discontent in civilization, a symptom that also bears a positive dimension opening a reflection towards aesthetics, politics, psychoanalysis or history.
JEL Codes Keywords: art history, scandal, artistic freedom, viewer, symptom.
