It is no secret that contemporary art and economic science have a great deal in common, and that the systems built around these broad disciplines function in similar ways. If “making a lot of money” might be a motivation for a beginner to engage in a career in one of these fields, he/she will first have to gain recognition and prestige to accomplish this ultimate purpose. A laborious path presents itself to the challenger who must move through a complex interaction of efficient work, social representation, and calculated relationships. Somewhat paradoxically, a very exclusive relational system will probably lead to a more successful career than a broad network of disparate friends. The ability of artists /economists to encrypt their intentions is certainly a safe strategy for selecting the class of people with whom they want to work.
For my exhibition in the Thomas K.Lang Gallery, I became interested in the mechanisms of exclusivity that are inherent in the production of art, and imagined artworks that function like riddles. Their apparently hermetic formal aspect was actually determined by a series of places inside and around the Webster University building, in which the fragments of a treasure map are hidden. Independently from their aesthetic taste, knowledge of art history or social position, visitors to the exhibition and students of Webster University are invited to decrypt the underlying codes within the sculptures, photographs and drawings that they see. By tracking one clue to the other, someone might find the hidden treasure…
(Adrien Tirtiaux)
Further information about Adrien Tirtiaux: http://www.adrientirtiaux.eu/