The chart of the 24 Motors — the central concern driving an artist's work. Three families (understanding, doing, experiencing), broken down into domains, registers and modes. Each Motor is illustrated by two representative artists.
| Understanding | Perception | Limits | 1
Time
Understanding the limits of our perception in terms of time Artists primarily driven by a desire to understand the limits of our perception, paying particular attention to our perception of time.Darren ALMOND, Simon STARLING |
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2
Space
Understanding the limits of our perception in terms of space Artists primarily driven by a desire to understand the limits of our perception, paying particular attention to our perception of space.Jorge PARDO, Andreas GURSKY |
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| Mechanisms | 3
Format transposition
Understanding the mechanisms of perception through format transposition Artists primarily driven by a desire to understand the mechanisms of our perception, paying particular attention to the changes (i.e., lost or added data) that result from translating elements from one format to another and to the variations in perception occasioned by these changes.Wade GUYTON, Thomas DEMAND |
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4
Sensory experience
Understanding the mechanisms of perception through sensory experience Artists primarily driven by a desire to understand the mechanisms of our perception, paying particular attention to the physical sensations that arise through an unusual experience.Olafur ELIASSON, Carsten HÖLLER |
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| Society/codes | Conditioning | 5
Mimesis
Understanding society and its codes in order to show their conditioning nature through mimesis Artists primarily driven by a desire to understand the ways in which the “system” (society and its codes, politics) conditions or seeks to condition our behavior and our appraisal of things. The method the artist employs consists in reproducing certain aspects of the system in order to submit them to the critical scrutiny of the spectator.Aernout MIK, Santiago SIERRA |
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6
Derision
Understanding society and its codes in order to show their conditioning nature through derision Artists primarily driven by a desire to understand the ways in which the “system” (society and its codes, politics) conditions or seeks to condition our behavior and our appraisal of things. The artist derides certain aspects of the system in order to submit them to the critical scrutiny of the spectator.Mark DION, Christian JANKOWSKI |
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| Unjust/exclusionary | 7
Acts of sharing
Understanding society and its codes in order to show their unjust and exclusionary nature through acts of sharing Artists primarily driven by a desire to understand the ways in which the “system” (society and its codes, politics) is unjust or exclusionary towards certain practices or persons. The artist creates situations for exchange, communication and sharing in order to implicitly denounce the system's shortcomings.Rirkrit TIRAVANIJA, HUANG Yong Ping |
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8
Denunciation
Understanding society and its codes in order to denounce their unjust and exclusionary nature Artists primarily driven by a desire to understand the ways in which the “system” (society and its codes, politics) is unjust or exclusionary towards certain practices or persons. The artist critically highlights the system's shortcomings.Kara WALKER, Harun FAROCKI |
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| Doing | Narration | Grotesque | 9
Parodic
Creating grotesque narratives using the parodic mode Artists primarily driven by a desire to create an alternative reality by constructing and telling narratives. The storytelling takes on a grotesque and parodic form (exaggerating the protagonists' features, attitudes, body type).John BOCK, Tom FRIEDMAN |
10
Disquieting
Creating grotesque narratives using the disquieting mode Artists primarily driven by a desire to create an alternative reality by constructing and telling narratives. The storytelling takes on a grotesque and disquieting quality (exaggerating the protagonists' features, attitudes, body type).Marcel DZAMA, Kai ALTHOFF |
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| Dreamlike | 11
Dramatic
Creating dreamlike narratives using the dramatic mode Artists primarily driven by a desire to create an alternative reality by constructing and telling narratives. The storytelling takes on a dreamlike and dramatic quality.Neo RAUCH, William KENTRIDGE |
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12
Poetic
Creating dreamlike narratives using the poetic mode Artists primarily driven by a desire to create an alternative reality by constructing and telling narratives. The storytelling takes on a dreamlike and poetic quality, akin to reverie.Peter DOIG, YANG Fudong |
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| Play | Light-hearted | 13
Marketing
Creating light-hearted play using marketing-type forms of communication Artists primarily driven by a desire to create an alternative reality by playing with it. They create works modeled on marketing strategies.Jeff KOONS, Takashi MURAKAMI |
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14
DIY
Creating light-hearted play through DIY-type work Artists primarily driven by a desire to create an alternative reality by playing with it. They endeavor to maintain an imperfect “homemade” quality in their creative process, as opposed to a “no flaws” industrial finish.Christian MARCLAY, Urs FISCHER |
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| Morbid | 15
Environments
Creating morbid play by shaping environments Artists primarily driven by a desire to create an alternative reality by playing with it. In particular by creating sites or worlds presenting a morbid or unsettling quality.Ugo RONDINONE, ELMGREEN & DRAGSET |
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16
Hybridization
Creating morbid play through hybridization Artists primarily driven by a desire to create an alternative reality by playing with it. In particular by creating morbid or unsettling creatures and entities through hybridization.Matthew BARNEY, Jake & Dinos CHAPMAN |
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| Experiencing | Self | Personal myth | 17
Metaphysical project
Experiencing one's existence by creating a personal myth endowed with a metaphysical project Artists primarily driven by a desire to construct an identity for themselves by developing a personal myth imbued with metaphysical overtones — i.e., a mythology characterized, according to the globally accepted definition, as “the quest for absolute being, the causes of the universe and the nature of matter”.Kiki SMITH, Mark MANDERS |
18
Socially engaged
Experiencing one's existence by creating a socially engaged personal myth Artists primarily driven by a desire to construct an identity for themselves by developing a personal myth imbued with political overtones — i.e., the myth they construct takes politics as its object and reveals the artist's aspirations to change the system.AI Weiwei, Shirin NESHAT |
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| Personal drama | 19
Role-play
Experiencing one's existence via a role-play-type staging of one's personal drama Artists primarily driven by a desire to experience their existential drama — exploring it via role-play.Cindy SHERMAN, YUE Minjun |
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20
Factual narrative
Experiencing one's existence via a factual narrative of one's personal drama Artists primarily driven by a desire to experience their existential drama — exploring it via factual narrative.Sophie CALLE, Tracey EMIN |
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| Body | Fragility | 21
Staging
Experiencing the fragility of existence through its staging Artists primarily driven by their interest in the ephemeral and the unstable dimension of existence. They seek to stage the fragile.Gabriel OROZCO, Erwin WURM |
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22
Auratic presence
Experiencing the fragility of existence through auratic presentification Artists primarily driven by their interest in the fragile, the ephemeral and the unstable dimension of existence. They make work in which the “fragile element” possesses an aura that does not derive from its staging but from the energy mediated by its sheer presence.Rachel WHITEREAD, Marlene DUMAS |
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| Pleasure | 23
Sensuality
Physically experiencing sensual pleasure Artists primarily driven by their taste for sensual and carnal experiences.Ernesto NETO, John CURRIN |
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24
Trashiness
Physically experiencing trashy pleasure Artists primarily driven by their taste for intense trashy or fetishistic experiences.Monica BONVINCINI, Paul MCCARTHY |