The role of the artist in self-referent art

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This work examines the relationship between “artist” and “person” in the realm of “self-referent art.” It investigates how the notions of “artist as author” and “person” are interrelated, focusing on art strategies that position the “artwork,” “artist,” and “human being” in a self-relational context. These strategies, termed “self-referent art,” encompass a variety of artists and concepts, including Joseph Kosuth, Donald Judd, Robert Morris, Carl Andre, Frank Stella, Art & Language, Gilbert & George, Ad Reinhardt, Joseph Beuys, and Keith Arnatt. The research concludes that the artist emerges as the source of the artwork when it functions as a tautology. In cases where the artwork equates with the artist or demonstrates the artist’s ownership of art, the artist is highlighted as the originator. Additionally, the person is identified as the source of the artist, even within self-referent systems, as illustrated by Gilbert & George, Arnatt, and Reinhardt. Ultimately, the person is recognized as a tautological phenomenon, particularly in Beuys’ strategy, where individual identity is affirmed through communion with others. This paradoxically suggests that while the person is a self-referential entity, it also requires relational context to exist fully, embodying both tautological and non-tautological aspects in its description.