The character: the most valuable work of the contemporary artist.

Etiquetas

Of course, the concept of the author has been radically reformulated over the course of history. Unlike in the past, the importance of the contemporary work is no longer the work as such, but the message it conveys.

A clear and current example is the character of C. Tangana. Antón Álvarez Alfaro is the spanish singer, rapper and composer whose album, “El Madrileño” (2021), got more than 5 million plays on Spotify in just 24 hours.

The curious thing is the name of his tour, “Sin cantar ni afinar”, which translates as “Without singing or tuning”. Unlike many artists these days, C. Tangana admits having no musical knowledge. Influenced by Dalí and Warhol when it comes to constructing his own character, he admitted in an interview the following:

“I don’t like Dali’s aesthetics, I think it looks like a crappy calendar with those melted clocks, and Warhol doesn’t kill me either, but I find his characters and his speeches incredible”.[i]

C. Tangana understands that the character of the artist should make his work have more value than it has on its own. The contemporary artist/author must be perfectly aware of the social context that surrounds him/her and take advantage of it. He/she must know how to make a place for him/herself in the media and in advertisement, and above all, he/she must cause controversy.

“The art of business is the step that follows art” is the phrase that C. Tangana uses to conclude the music video of his song “Avida Dollars”, a nickname with which Breton called Dalí in a derogatory way, as it translates as “thirsty for money”. [ii]

Salvador Dalí, Andy Warhol and C. Tangana are three clear examples of the fact that mastery of technique is not essential to become a contemporary genius and that a certain financial audacity can help to achieve that goal. But above all, their character is, in short, their most precious work and their greatest legacy.