Week 11：Theoretical Reflections: Re-examining Joseph Beuys’ “Everyone is an Artist” in the AI Era

Theoretical Reflections: Re-examining Joseph Beuys’ “Everyone is an Artist” in the AI Era

Recently, following feedback from my tutorial and my own reflections on curatorial theory, I’ve been diving deeper into the theoretical underpinnings of my curatorial project—particularly Joseph Beuys’ famous assertion that “Everyone is an artist.” To fully engage with this idea in the context of my AI-focused exhibition, I’ve revisited key texts, critical analyses, and relevant contemporary scholarship.

Joseph Beuys: Art, Society, and Transformation

Initially, I understood Beuys’ statement quite literally: as a claim that anyone can create art. However, further reading and reflection have deepened my understanding significantly. According to Beuys (1979), the idea of “Everyone is an artist” does not simply democratize artistic production in terms of skill or aesthetics. Rather, Beuys proposed art as a fundamentally social and transformative act. He saw creativity as a universal capability to reshape society through participation, cooperation, and collective imagination.

Claire Bishop (2012), in Artificial Hells: Participatory Art and the Politics of Spectatorship, provides valuable insights into understanding how participatory practices could help unpack Beuys’ statement. Bishop argues that the value of participatory art lies not merely in aesthetics but in its capacity to foster social engagement and critical dialogue. Her perspective suggests a broader interpretation of Beuys’ idea: that art is inherently a collaborative and socially embedded practice.

Relevance of Beuys’ Theory in the Age of AI

To connect Beuys’ theory with contemporary issues, I explored Johanna Zylinska’s book, AI Art: Machine Visions and Warped Dreams (2020). Zylinska critically examines how AI is reshaping artistic creation and perception, raising vital questions about authorship, creativity, and agency. She emphasizes that AI-generated art complicates the traditional notions of artistic authority, challenging us to rethink who (or what) can create meaningful artistic expressions.

Reflecting on these insights, my curatorial project aims to examine whether AI technologies, by democratizing access to sophisticated artistic production methods, align with or diverge from Beuys’ ideal of social and collective artistic agency. Can AI tools facilitate broader societal participation, or do they reinforce existing artistic hierarchies by privileging those with formal art training and established aesthetic standards?

Curatorial Case Studies: Informing My Approach

To better situate my project within contemporary curatorial practice, I reviewed several key AI-focused exhibitions and projects:

Refik Anadol’s “Machine Hallucinations” (2019, Artechouse, New York) – This immersive installation uses AI to reinterpret vast data sets, questioning traditional human-centric approaches to perception and memory.
“AI: More Than Human” (2019, Barbican Centre, London) – This exhibition critically investigated AI’s role in reshaping society and explored how artists utilize AI to challenge human creativity and autonomy.
Mario Klingemann’s “Memories of Passersby I” (2019, Sotheby’s) – By utilizing generative adversarial networks (GANs), Klingemann explores the boundaries of human creativity and AI-driven artistry, reflecting on AI’s potential to redefine artistic authenticity.

These cases provided valuable comparative insights. They demonstrate diverse curatorial approaches to AI and art—ranging from immersive experiences to critical, conceptual inquiries. Engaging with these examples clarified my curatorial positioning: my approach emphasizes audience interaction and direct participation, using AI-generated art as a platform to critically reassess artistic education, accessibility, and participation.

References:

Beuys, Joseph. “Introduction,” in Energy Plan for the Western Man: Joseph Beuys in America. New York: Four Walls Eight Windows, 1979.
Bishop, Claire. Artificial Hells: Participatory Art and the Politics of Spectatorship. London: Verso Books, 2012.
Zylinska, Johanna. AI Art: Machine Visions and Warped Dreams. London: Open Humanities Press, 2020.
Barbican Centre, “AI: More Than Human” Exhibition, 2019, London. https://www.barbican.org.uk
Artechouse, Refik Anadol’s “Machine Hallucinations,” 2019, New York. https://www.artechouse.com

This deeper theoretical reflection has significantly strengthened my understanding of the potential role of AI within contemporary curatorial practices and its implications for art education.