Economics in Art and Artists in Economy

While in the field of economics the artistic critique of materialistic forces was inherited into new forms of organization, e.g. autonomy and creativity of employees (Boltanski/ Chiapello, 2005); and within the arising creative industries new ways, of achieving innovation and productivity, were discussed (cf. Bilton, 2007; Caves, 2000; Howkins, 2001). Conversely, the influence of neoliberal attitudes on society (and art) has been discussed within the framework of Governmentality Studies, addressing primarily the formation of the “entrepreneurial self” (Bröckling, 2007; Rose, 1998; Voß/ Pongratz, 1998): This self has been understood as an identity norm bearing constant pressure on individuals on the basis of economic efficiency and entrepreneurial calculations. The logics of optimization have been regarded as partly conflicting and thus leading to paradoxes and aporias of integration (cf. Beck’s ‘risk society’; Giddens’ ‘active self’; Rosa’s ‘social acceleration’).

However, a recent study by Eikhof and Haunschild (2006) suggests that this antagonism between the identity as an artist and as an entrepreneur can be bridged by the phenomenon of “lifestyle”, which they call “bohemian entrepreneur”. Following these findings, the aim of this work is to link the two opposing fields of studies - the economic and the sociological - and scrutinize the different ways in which artists manage the link between art and business within their individual lifestyle.

For this end, I will use empirical data from a current project (Geimer, 2015-2017), particularly semi-structured interviews and group-discussions with artists. In order to understand how implied norms lead to artists’ actions, the documentary method (Bohnsack, 2003) with enhancements concerning the reconstruction of identity norms made by Geimer (2014) will be applied. The advantage of this research lies in the exploration of the interplay between social and individual factors in the context of the outlined neoliberal social changes.