For an artist, it is as important that his work is known, recognised and appreciated as it is that it is properly contextualised, that it can form part of a whole genealogy, that a continuity can be traced in his career, linking it to previous artists and also to artists of later generations. Five cases taken from different times and contexts can serve to demonstrate this fact: Case 1: In Germany, teachers at art schools are usually active artists who can bring their students closer to the reality of the art world. Not only that, but future artists specify in their curricula the name of the tutor with whom they have followed their studies. It is no coincidence that we can speak of a Düsseldorf School, with teachers such as the Bechers, whose students include Andreas Gursky or Thomas Ruff, among others. Who in turn, can act as teachers in the same field. Case 2: In 2004, Pierre Huyghe wrote an article in a special issue of Artforum magazine dedicated to Pop Art, entitled “Garden Party.” In it, Huyghe focuses on The Factory, Andy Warhol’s studio in New York, a place of encounters and collaborations. Huyghe emphasizes the aspects closest to “relational aesthetics” – places of encounter, exchange and experience – a category in which he himself was included. In this way, the relationship “Warhol and I” was established, and in no less a magazine than internationally influential as Artforum. Case 3: Gabriel Orozco knows the importance of talking with other artists and for a long time organized gatherings and meetings at his home in Mexico. When in 2000 Gabriel Orozco’s work began to gain some visibility and he was asked to present a large exhibition of his work at the Museo Tamayo in Mexico, Orozco did not look for a renowned curator to work with, but instead looked for a group of curators who had just graduated from university. As the artist Antonio Ortega often likes to say in relation to this anecdote, it is an effective way of ensuring gratitude and a place as a reference for later generations. Case 4: Jorge Oteiza is the great reference for Basque artists. For or against, as a father to be followed or as a father to be killed, the majority of artists working in the Basque Country have analysed, debated and discussed his work and his legacy. Case 5: In Catalonia it is difficult to establish genealogies. We are talking about isolated great names such as Miró, Dalí or Tàpies. Miró wanted to create the Centre for Advanced Studies at the Fundació Miró with younger generations in mind. However, a genealogy starting with Tàpies is difficult to trace. With Muntadas or Aballí we find the beginnings of an open and dialoguing attitude in relation to younger artists. However, tracing a genealogy that begins in the second half of the 20th century is a problem that has not yet been resolved. Sometimes traced by historiography, sometimes from contemporaneity or by the authors themselves to force belonging to that desired genealogy or to discuss with their closest predecessors, what these relationships show is their importance in the artists’ career and in the creation of context.
