Some Thoughts on Collaborating with Other Artists

This text (including the "exercise" part) was commissioned for a publication that in the end was never realized, so I'm just going to post it here instead.

In general, in our society, in art schools, and the art world (which is dominated by the art market) collaboration is discouraged. Instead, the common idea is that artists need to work alone in isolated studios or quasi-studios (living rooms, basements, garages, etc.) and only reveal their object-based work (designed to be transported and sold) to the public when given the opportunity to show in a gallery, museum, or alternative space (all of which often have various issues with inaccessibility—admission prices, obscure locations, elitist vibes, etc.). By having most artists trying to operate in that way, the art world can take its pick from the plethora of options do see what might sell and just leave the rest to slowly disappear.