PSJM: The Aesthetics of the Trade Show

A recurring feature in the works of contemporary art is their interest in the forms of reflection not only on the reality in which we live but also on themselves. Who determines the in-tended use of a work of art? What properties define a work of art as such? What responsibilities is supposed to have the artist about the meanings of which the work is the carrier? Each of these points is further complicated when the author decides to sacrifice his ego in the name of a collective and anonymous production as Pablo San José and Cynthia Viera do, being active as a couple as PSJM since 2003. PSJM celebrate today a decade of production of works/non-works structured around social, economic and political themes, in relation both to society and the history of art. In this text I will try to explore the correspondences between art and product, between artist and brand, and between the post-studio activities of the Spanish duo and the post-Fordist phase of global economy in this first part of the new millennium. I will refer to issues related to globalization, the commodification of culture, ecology, and explain how the production of PSJM is symptomatic of a significant change of the role of the artist in our society and in art history