Possíveis genealogias para três tipos de artista: xamânico-messiânico, artesão-trabalhador e paciente-arteterapêutico

Abstract

This work presents a typology that associates artistic production with the artist’s personality. A possible genealogy was traced for three types of artists proposed, analyzing past works from the history of art through the life, work, and discourse of the artists (when available). To do so, a historical contextualization of the social role of artists over time was formulated, examining the motivations for making art. Artists from the present and past were analyzed and an effort was made to contextualize their works. The typology consists of the following categories: 1) messianic-shamanistic artists, who have something very important to tell to the world, a message that they need to pass on through their art. To do this, they use forms similar to religious ritual or discourses that reveal a spiritual, philosophical, or cosmic “truth”. This type of artist is usually guided by their intuition. Origin hypothesis: the first producers of images in caves; 2) artisan-worker artists, who usually consider their own activity as a profession similar to any other human activity. The creation of their work is frequently, though not necessarily, closely linked with material issues and manual labour. Their production is associated with that of the artisan. One might say that this category is related to craft businesses and guilds, who determined the rules for entering the professions; 3) artistic-therapeutic-patient artists, who use art to express and, to a certain degree, deal with emotional and existential issues. It is stressed that this type of artist is not – or has never been – a mental health patient and did not necessarily start their career in therapeutic activities that rely on art. The possibilities initially proposed are that this artist started out in the so-called contemporary art field, or that they are connected with the figure of the romantic artist, as someone who constructs their own self, develops a persona or character for themselves (a possibility that proved to be fairly plausible).