Paper short abstract:

The paper discusses - with focus on art commissions across time and space - dominant rules of the contemporary art world in relation to the protocol of the New Patrons.

Paper long abstract:

The paper comprises two parts: The first part introduces briefly the New Patrons network in past and present with special consideration of the "Protocol of the New Patrons", written in 1990 by Belgian/French artist François Hers. Compared to the dominant rules of the contemporary art world, the protocol strives to shift the practice of commissioning art and consequently the ways art is produced and mediated. It opens up new perspectives on participation and offers the potential to rethink the role of art in society: not focusing solely on the artwork itself but the entire process of production.

The second part reflects upon the New Patrons network and its rules from an anthropological perspective. Based on empirical research, it examines rules and modes geared towards establishing connectivity and regulating controversies between the heterogeneous parts of New Patrons activities: Which different groups of actors are coming together? What provokes them to commission an art work - or to participate? What rules the co-operations and creates connectivity? Where and why do conflicts occur? To approach these questions, the paper uses the analytical concept of "translation moments" for the purpose of identifying significant impulses, which either support connectivity or cause controversies.