Invitation to the Defense of Önder Özengi

The Examination Panel is made up of: Axel Stockburger (chair), Ruth Sonderegger (supervisor), and Gerald Raunig (external appraiser, Zurich University of the Arts).

Abstract

Current discussions concerning art and labor by theorists, activists, artists, and researchers are mainly conceiving the relation between art and capitalist production from the perspectives that emphasize the artist’s work model, her working conditions, her exceptional position in society and economy, and her incorporation into capitalist production processes.

I situate artistic activity and its economy relationally in the diverse economic landscape. I do so through empirical fieldwork research that focuses on one of the works of Oliver Ressler titled “Everything’s coming together while everything’s falling apart” (2016-2018) and the economic relations surrounding it in order to elucidate the relationship between art, labor and the economy more precisely. 

I elaborate on questions such as: 1) What characterizes the economies in which artistic activity emerges? 2) how can one conceive an interrelation of heterogeneous economies in the art field? 3) To what extent and in what ways can artistic practices be seen as part of the capitalist production process? 4) Under what circumstances can the production process of art be taken as an alternative economic activity? These questions are all framed by the larger question of 5) the way in which artistic labor appears as a commodity and is appropriated in the production process in particular situations and moments.

Keywords: artistic labor, diverse economies, commodification, appropriation, relation

Short biography

Önder Özengi is a curator, researcher, and lecturer based in Vienna. He studied Anthropology and Art Management. He wrote his MA thesis on institutional critique and alternative institutional practices. He is currently PhD candidate at The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and focuses on "Commodification and Appropriation of Artistic Labor." Özengi has curated various exhibitions, including "Relative Position and Conclusions," Suriye Arcade, Istanbul, 2009; "There is Nothing to Lose," Stærekassen, Copenhagen, 2010; "Never Again" Depo, Istanbul, 2013. He writes critical reviews for various magazines, exhibition catalogs, and books. He edited two books titled "Relative Positions and Conclusions" Istanbul: 2011 and co-edited with Asena Günal, "Never Again" Istanbul; İletişim, 2013.

The thesis defense will be in English and will take place at the Academy of Fine Arts at Schillerplatz 3, 1010 Vienna, in room M13a.

We are looking forward to welcoming you.