Hans Abbing, The Selflessly Devoted Artist (2002)
1 The Selfless Artist is Intrinsically Motivated
Art is sacred. Therefore, they must condemn self-interest or commercial artists (or who they judge to
be so).
Commercial artists choose the most profitable activities inside and outside the art world, not
for the sake of art but for their own sake (monetary, rewards, recognition, fame). They are
not only concerned with the making of art.
Artists can be said to be intrinsically motivated and in the strictest sense, there is no such
thing as a selfless artist.
Intrinsic motivation can play a role in any profession but seem to be even more important for artists
than for other professionals. This would mean that artists are relatively more selfless in the sense
that artist are more intrinsically motivated than other professionals (extrinsic rewards less
important).
2 Rewards Serve as Inputs
Young artists are often seeking monetary gain. To do so, they have a second job next to their artistic
job. In economic sense this is to serve the art. The incomes these types of indirect employment
produce serve as inputs in a production process, the production of a contribution to art. Rewards can
be means.
But this can also lead to personal advancement.
It is often impossible to distinguish ‘selfless’ devotion to art from personal advancement and to
distinguish artists who are primarily selfless from artists who are primarily commercial.
3 Artists are Faced with a Survival Constraint
Time and money are not infinite, and they are dependent on one another. More artistic time means
less income; and more income means less time for art.
Individual artists who increase their incomes beyond what they need for mere survival can still be
devoted to art, as long as they put extra income toward artistic aims. These kinds of constraints can
vary with time and can also vary between artists and between nations:
1. First of all, artists are never totally devoted to art; and so there are varying degrees to which
they forsake money. There is no specific income level where an artist suddenly loses interest
in money, but there is a range.
2. Second, artists have different monetary needs when it comes to the purchase of art supplies
3. And third, the notion of what constitutes a decent minimum income varies from community
to community. In Europe, having a subscription to a daily newspaper is generally regarded as
necessary for a decent lifestyle, while in the US, owning a car is essential.
Internal subsidization = The phenomenon that a non-arts job or a job that involves the produc- tion
of commercial art almost exclusively serves the ‘real’ art job .
In the arts, there is a largely fixed survival constraint for artists. As long as artists earn less than a
minimum level of money, artists seek money in order to make art, but when funds are sufficient they
quickly lose interest in earning money.
4 Autonomy is Always Relative
Are artists autonomous or dependent?
Autonomy refers to the liberty people have to follow their own will independent of others.
1
1 The Selfless Artist is Intrinsically Motivated
Art is sacred. Therefore, they must condemn self-interest or commercial artists (or who they judge to
be so).
Commercial artists choose the most profitable activities inside and outside the art world, not
for the sake of art but for their own sake (monetary, rewards, recognition, fame). They are
not only concerned with the making of art.
Artists can be said to be intrinsically motivated and in the strictest sense, there is no such
thing as a selfless artist.
Intrinsic motivation can play a role in any profession but seem to be even more important for artists
than for other professionals. This would mean that artists are relatively more selfless in the sense
that artist are more intrinsically motivated than other professionals (extrinsic rewards less
important).
2 Rewards Serve as Inputs
Young artists are often seeking monetary gain. To do so, they have a second job next to their artistic
job. In economic sense this is to serve the art. The incomes these types of indirect employment
produce serve as inputs in a production process, the production of a contribution to art. Rewards can
be means.
But this can also lead to personal advancement.
It is often impossible to distinguish ‘selfless’ devotion to art from personal advancement and to
distinguish artists who are primarily selfless from artists who are primarily commercial.
3 Artists are Faced with a Survival Constraint
Time and money are not infinite, and they are dependent on one another. More artistic time means
less income; and more income means less time for art.
Individual artists who increase their incomes beyond what they need for mere survival can still be
devoted to art, as long as they put extra income toward artistic aims. These kinds of constraints can
vary with time and can also vary between artists and between nations:
1. First of all, artists are never totally devoted to art; and so there are varying degrees to which
they forsake money. There is no specific income level where an artist suddenly loses interest
in money, but there is a range.
2. Second, artists have different monetary needs when it comes to the purchase of art supplies
3. And third, the notion of what constitutes a decent minimum income varies from community
to community. In Europe, having a subscription to a daily newspaper is generally regarded as
necessary for a decent lifestyle, while in the US, owning a car is essential.
Internal subsidization = The phenomenon that a non-arts job or a job that involves the produc- tion
of commercial art almost exclusively serves the ‘real’ art job .
In the arts, there is a largely fixed survival constraint for artists. As long as artists earn less than a
minimum level of money, artists seek money in order to make art, but when funds are sufficient they
quickly lose interest in earning money.
4 Autonomy is Always Relative
Are artists autonomous or dependent?
Autonomy refers to the liberty people have to follow their own will independent of others.
1
