White paper on creativity - ebla center

Chapter 14similar phenomena are now occurringin the art world. Art consumers now nolonger go to visit a specific exhibition,but set off on tours of exhibitions orthe stands of fairs, and are thusexposed to hundreds of works in oneday, often while engaging insimultaneous complex, varied relationalactivities. Art is adapting to the newstate of things by adopting strategies ofseduction to attract the worn-outattention of an absent-minded,distracted public. And this is true notonly of the works, but also the veryconcept of exhibitions, which in turnintroduce unusual and original formatsand methods to whet the appetite of apublic perennially sated with stimuli.14.2 The effects of selection.Italy in the internationalcontext“For whosoever hath, to him shall begiven, and he shall have moreabundance: but whosoever hath not,from him shall be taken away even thathe hath.” This celebrated passage fromthe Gospel According to St Matthew(13:12) is why we talk about the“Matthew effect” for a typicalphenomenon on many culturalmarkets: the focusing of attention (andresources) on a very small number ofartists to the detriment of all the others.And this is not only a typicalphenomenon in the cultural sphere.Something similar also happens inscience. When an essay is signed by acelebrated scientist it receives moreattention compared to others signed byless well-known scientists, irrespectiveof the content. As James Surowieckiobserved in The wisdom of crowds, whentwo jointly written articles arepublished one after the other in thesame review and on basically the samesubject, but one signed first by afamous scientist and the other with thesame scientist’s signature after that of ajoint author, then the first article iscited and read much more often thanthe second, because the contribution ofthe more “noteworthy” scientist issupposedly greater.In the field of contemporary art wewitness very similar trends. The sameidea can be put forward at the sametime by many artists, but those withouta greater reputation generate moreinterest and attention than others. Thisper se does not mean the system isrigged, since in assessing an artist, hiscareer counts much more than anindividual idea or work. But it doesraise very deep doubts. The fact thatwhen an artist reaches a certain level offame and recognition, or is simplyproposed through channels with acertain authority in the system, ensuresthat his work is inevitablyacknowledged or at least of greatinterest, irrespective of whether it isreally appreciated or not. On the otherhand, if artists who come from lessauthoritative channels or for somereason have not reached a certainthreshold of fame, despite having donesignificant work, they mustautomatically face a kind of systematiclack of interest which undermines thequality and quantity of attentionrequired for an adequate understandingof their work.WHITE PAPER ON CREATIVITY 321