Self-Presentation of Visual Artists & New Media

The current thesis explores the extent to which visual artists are enabled to become more autonomous in their representation and recognition in the new media environment. Traditionally, visual artists are bounded to galleries, art museums, dealers or curators to sell and represent their work. However, the web has transformed arts world processes and practices in terms of trading, valuation and consumption and has enabled the public to be more active in discovering and engaging with the arts. Analyzing the practices of ten international visual artists on the web, the current study aims to bring new reading of the transformations that occur in the arts system with the technological advancement. A conceptual framework aims to reveal artists’ strategies in constructing and positioning their brand identities online utilizing the new media tools. Their self-presentation, self-marketing, direct selling and/or networking approaches will be analyzed in order to define how the market opportunities and market positioning of the individual artists are modifying. The study uses mixed-method qualitative approach, based on content analysis and in-depth interviews. The purpose of this methodology is to reveal incentives of the artists to be online, to show their attitudes and approaches in building and managing their online presence, to investigate their efforts to present their capabilities and talents, and to reveal trends in building relationships with the public and other professionals on the web. Previous research has suggested that artists have powerful tools and resources for self-marketing and audience engagement. Thus, current research will investigate how individual artists’ self-branding strategies and the new media tools can be utilized by the artists to become more autonomous in the art system.