by Christopher Fernald

How does the manner in which art practitioners pursue their creative endeavors—in the very practical application and execution of their grand ideas support or refute traditional understandings of rebellion and independence? How is independence possible when we imagine the playing field in the Euro-American art world has folded in on itself, hierarchies have toppled, and an unprecedented number of voices, perspectives, and methodologies with varying points of access to and involvement in modes of power constantly compete, cross-fertilize, and merge together?  Most importantly, can our imagination of resistance accommodate a power system that celebrates and commodifies rebellion?

The answer, I’d argue, is yes. I crafted a survey to get a better sense of how artists working independently in the New York City region experience the art world and its discourses of community, independence, and rebellion.  My findings are specific to the workings of the New York art world and its actors, though I imagine a similar understanding of the operations within art worlds in other major first world metropolitan centers may be gleaned in certain instances.  I’ve concluded that effective resistance requires a new understanding of how power operates and a reimaging of what the point of intersection between it and powers of resistance actually looks like.

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