Artist's Assistant

Artists assistants work with, and often under direct instruction from, artists in the production or preparation of art works.[1][2][3][4][5] Many famous and influential artist have worked with assistants including Barbara Hepworth[6] and David Hockney[7]

Famous assistants

While the names of many artists assistants are never known, some artists assistants have become famous in their own right either as artists[8][9] or for their role as assistants.[10] One of the most famous is Salaì who was assistant and pupil of Leonardo da Vinci.

Controversy

The use of artists assistants has been a controversial issue. The controversy primarily focuses on the assistants not being acknowledged for their work and questions of what constitutes art.[11] David Hockney described Damian Hirst's use of assistants as, "It's a little insulting to craftsmen, skilful craftsmen."[12] This was in response to Hirst's use of assistants to paint his spot paintings.[13] The contemporary artist Jeff Koons uses assistants in a similar way, “I’m basically the idea person," he told an interviewer, "I’m not physically involved in the production. I don’t have the necessary abilities, so I go to the top people.”[14]

There have also been exhibitions about the relationship between artist and assistant such as that at the New York gallery Luxembourg & Dayan which hosted ‘In the Making: Artists, Assistants, and Influence’ – a show tracing the link between artists and their (eventually famous) assistants in 2016[15]

References
  1. "ARTIST ASSISTANTS - The World Of Anonymous Helpers". Widewalls. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  2. "What It's Really Like to Be an Artist Assistant". www.format.com. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  3. "Artquest". Artquest. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  4. "Art Demystified: Why Artists Use Studio Assistants". artnet News. 2016-07-14. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  5. Beck, Graham T. (2008-02-06). "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Assistant". The Brooklyn Rail. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  6. "'I know this sculpture well. It's an old friend' | Christie's". www.christies.com. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  7. Bayley, Stephen (2013-03-19). "Like every great artist, David Hockney needs his circle". Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  8. Jeffries, Stuart (2013-03-23). "The Chapman Brothers on life as artists' assistants: 'We did our daily penance'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  9. "Titian, the renaissance master from Venice". Italian Renaissance Art.com. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  10. AnOther (2016-07-13). "Five of the Most Influential Artists' Assistants". AnOther. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  11. Hafner, Hans-Jürgen (2015-11-18). "Trickier Affairs".
  12. "Hockney criticises Hirst method". 2012-01-03. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  13. Singh, Anita (2012-01-12). "Damien Hirst: assistants make my spot paintings but my heart is in them all". Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  14. Powers, John (2012-08-17). "I Was Jeff Koons's Studio Serf". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  15. Magazine, Wallpaper* (2016-02-29). "Helping hand: Luxembourg & Dayan explores the role of the artist's assistant". Wallpaper*. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
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