Zones of subjective projection: the artist's studio and the museum

Abstract

This paper considers the journey made from studio to stardom by fictional character Pupkin, as well as the work of real-life (and now deceased) artist Martin Kippenberger, who worked with numerous collaborators and assistants. Kippenberger's work reveals the complexities of subjectivity and its functions in the studio and the museum, deliberately questioning the very possibility of an artist's self-representation. Moreover, he lampooned the idea of the studio as a place for self-construction and the museum as a site for subjective confession, reflection, and transformation.