An
Evening of Readings, Psychology and Conversation with a keynote by Dr. Matthew Pelowski, Psychology Department, University
of Vienna.
There are countless books, podcasts, and coaches for aspiring artists
who promise success if you follow their advice. However, by focusing on how to succeed rather than on what it means to succeed
in art, they assume that we agree on the goal: visibility, prizes, biennials, and collectors. This leads to a neat ranking
of money and fame – despite Béla Bartók’s reminder that "competitions are for horses, not artists."
This themed
evening offers a different proposition: to treat “success” not as a finish line, but as a question that can be approached
through artistic experience, philosophical reflection, and psychological insight.
It is also presention of How
to live and succeed like an artist, an “anti-manual” developed with students in the seminar of the same title (2024–25) at
the department of Sculpture and Space, University of Applied Arts Vienna.
This evening will be offering a lively
mix: readings from the book and its authors (poems, notes, detours, failures), psychological studies on how we value art and
those who produce it, and an open discussion that welcomes artists and non-artists alike.
After all, the “artistic
lifestyle” has long been an aspirational one: not because it guarantees glamour, but because it experiments with attention,
risk, freedom, and meaning.
With
- Dr. Matthew Pelowski, psychologist, head of ARTIS (Art Research on Transformation
of Individuals and Societies) Lab, Vienna University
- Marie Pircher, artist, Zeichnung und Druckgraphik, Universität
für angewandte Kunst, Wien
- Hanka Taschenziegel, artist, Sprachkunst, Universität für angewandte Kunst, Wien
- Dr.
Klaus Speidel, art critic, philosopher, curator, University of Applied Arts Vienna / AIT Austrian Institute of Technology
- and
further guests (tba)
