Abstract

How should the artist manage his time and work? Art practice is a complex, diverse and multifaceted enterprise. The premium on innovation and creativity is unusually high, the return on investment is almost impossible to calculate and the value, when it is truly successful, is priceless. Yet like any form of organized, analyzable work which produces material output, art practice is governed by specific task-orientated, rule-bound skills pertaining to technique, craft and presentation which are culture-specific and a tradition unto themselves. The contemporary artist has almost all of the methods, approaches and philosophies of the history of art to pick from. What place and significance might pragmatism have in this selection?