Isa Genzken: An artist at the top-the (before) last male domain

Keywords: the most important German artist, women in art world, equality, media reporting and private life, connection between success and quality in art

Difficult separations, internet interpreting and dubious search results; Bad media mediation immediately not at the same time understandable art and private artist-private life:

Isa Genzken has long been the most important or at least one of the leading visual artists in the world, e.g. B. she was classified years ago in the annual artist ranking of the Monopol art magazine as the "most important German artist" .

In non -evaluating, but according to presence in exhibitions, public collections, selling sales simply illustrative information systems about art is different: When monopoly gave her the most important living artist, Isa Genzken was z. B. on artfacts.net, for example to 250, she currently takes 62th place - but among the artists of the whole world, before Giacometti, Koons and Twombly.

This is despite the fact that sales prices strongly influence the ranking, which means powerful compromises for all world -leading artists from the outset because they earn fractions of their male colleagues.

In this context, a gene ceremony shown right below in the context of "men as better artists" misunderstood and misconvised. It is only to be hoped that in the upcoming anniversary celebrations around the artist, not too many journalists can be carried away to follow men-Sind-better-(or women-Sind-better-in-in) discussions; That would plunge our civilization-with equality of people as a fundamental feature-into the abyss (you already knew that there is again a magazine called Miss, "anchor in a fast-moving life", "in a playful design, fashion, ambition, life and love" and "a little more emotional and authentic than the others"?).

Isa Genzken is questioned, presented and perceived by the media that seriously deal with art and culture regardless of any personal/private difficulties as one of the most important German artists.

The devil is also in detail here: Sometimes an artist is discussed in order to grasp and present the width and complexity of his work; artist emphasizes that (not addressed, but interpreted: despite her gender) in the art world very far.

Some don't care that Ranking's artists are not able to reproduce in dollars in reasonable places, because an order of art according to the talents and quality of works of art contradicts the most useful meaning of art for society - stimulate citizens to think.

But that's precisely the point; these rankings hold up a harsh mirror to society: they reveal that the causal relationships that lead to success or failure in the art world are currently only to a small extent due to the talents of the artists.

Instead, market mechanisms have taken over the art that do not rinse the best works upwards, just like they do not bring the best products forward, on the contrary. The best artist is the one who mastered the market best and not the one who makes the best or long -lasting good art.

This means that talent has little chance because market control, in addition to unpleasant, unadornedness (which is foreign to most really good artists) must also be bought by high investments.

Every successful art certainly needs ideas, but all people are capable of developing ideas (if they have not already been ironed so smoothly in school that no edges for the development of ideas remain).

Every artist certainly needs expert support in the presentation in public, but it does not depend on it that every artist who can approach other people and can inspire them of his ideas (if he still has enthusiasm, Germans are increasingly critical in this area). Something like that, every factor could be questioned, the unevenly distributed kneading at the beginning remains as a limiting factor for success in the art world.

An influence factor is easy to prove with facts: to be born as a man is a clear advantage for success in the art world, because otherwise 83 of the 100 leading artists in the world would not be men (and 77.4 % of 500 leading artists). Sounds bad? But no, the women are difficult, in 2012 there were only 16 instead of 17 women in the first 100 and among the first 500 fabulous 80.8 % men.

Joking aside to be born as a man is still an advantage in the world of work and simply brings the man a fifth more wages for nothing. A lot is written and talked a lot -at the moment in the course of the "Metoo" debate a little less, because such little things in view of men in power positions that cannot keep their fingers or other parts of the body from or from subordinate women are in the meantime -instead of simply reporting that this fact contradict both human rights and our constitution and demand that the legislator finally fulfills its duty, a law for the same work, enact.

But the difficulties start with the fact that women are weaker than men? Would be an argument if the 1.70 man on the construction site would also earn less than his colleague grown up.

ISA Genzken takes little care of theoretical emancipation and even less about superfluous media chats, she even said in an interview (bit.ly/2d33cdb) when asked whether women have more difficult on the art market, "no, they are simply not so good".

However, it continues:

The best artists are gay. Take Leonardo da Vinci , Michelangelo, also Gerhard Richter . "

Despite his four children and three marriages, it could be subsumed under "gay" (and "best artist"), just as she is gay and a good artist.

Gay artists are much more sensitive and finer; And Isa Genzken obviously does not differentiate according to any conventional gender characteristics that are randomly distributed by birth.

In a nutshell, but there are several reasons why the art of Isa Genzken is something very special.

It is still difficult to understand why the German art scene has failed so long for this artist's perception and appreciation for this artist (and " difficult to understand art " is not an excuse for experts)