THE SPECTRUM
“Artists work in groups. This is a primary fact.” – Alan Moore
“Collectives… are engaged in a more or less conscious effort to renegotiate the conditions of art’s autonomy.” – Grant Kester
Modes of collaboration exist on a spectrum between these two poles.
COLLOBORATION ≠ COLLECTIVE
A network is not a community
That is, a group of individuals who are connected by forms of communication do not necessarily share mutual obligations
A collaboration is not a collective
That is, a group of people working together are not necessarily challenging the conditions of art’s autonomy (Kester) or challenging individual authorship.
Modes of Collectives
| MODE | EXAMPLES | CHALLENGE |
| COUPLE | Madeline Gins & Arakawa | Mutual Translation to create a 3rd subjectivity |
| COUPLE | Christo & Jeanne Claude [Site] | ? |
| PARTISAN BAND: BRIGADE | GAAG | ? |
| PARTISAN BAND: COMMITTEE | AMCC and AMCC CATALOG COMMITTEE | Socialized |
| ROCK BAND | Good/Bad | ? |
| ARCHITECTURE/DESIGN FIRM | ANT FARM | Partnership |
| ARCHITECTURE/PLANNING FIRM | Ala Plastica | ? |
| RESEARCH COLLABORATION | Ultra-Red | ? |
| INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION | Every Bluechip Artist, also Disney Inc. | Authorship transfer: Workers surrender, artist siezes. |
| POST-WORK | Furtherfield | ? |
| GANG (No Don) | Early New York School, Colab, 47 Canal? | ? |
| GANG (Has Don and Bosses) | Late New York School, Cal Arts Mafia?, 47 Canal? | ? |
I need help to fill in the 3rd column… Or maybe you would like to join me in collectively turning this into an essay?