faq | by isabel abele

written for the book "Don't worry 'bout a thing - Being Alex Diamond", Verlag GUDBERG, Oct 2009

Alex Diamond has been around for a while, but  the artist’s identity is never revealed at exhibitions. What's the idea behind Alex Diamond and how did the project develop?  Alex Diamond is more or less anonymous. Personal and biographical details are hidden, but there is a body of work that includes drawings, photography, paintings, collage, installative work or even tattoos. So on the one hand, there's this virtual body of work which is manifold (do you mean manifest?). As a reference on a given situation it seeks to capture the moment and try to never appear the same. Same with the artist behind this body of work. If you see Alex Diamond rather as an experiment, this experiment constantly develops a new specific identity for the artist himself. In this sense, one aspect of Alex Diamond to slip into a role defined by external circumstances. In short: the artist lives through the art he creates - and the other way round.  But there is another side to Alex Diamond, which makes things more complex. The idea of neglecting the identity of the artist also connects to the idea of the artist's studio or an artist's factory (or maybe even an agency) in which art is produced not necessarily by one single person anymore, but  by a network of people working on the same issues. Of course, there is a recognition value in all the artworks produced by Alex Diamond -  the paintings, drawings or installations do show a certain style that are recoginsable as Alex Diamond. The fact that the individuality of the artist is kept secret gives freedom to the creative process. However, looking back to what happened before, the Alex Diamond experiment is becoming increasingly anonymous. Having started as a kind of one-man show, it increasingly depends on other people, as you can see in the project "Being Alex Diamond". For "Being Alex Diamond" people are portrayed with a surreal mask covering their faces. They pose in front of a camera, pretending to be the real Alex Diamond. But the project also takes shape on another level. The photo series was first shown in a group exhibition in Barcelona, Spain. As with every exhibition staged by Alex Diamond, you need to find somebody to slip into the artist’s role. This time a friend and model who had already posed for the photo series "Being Alex Diamond" was asked to put on the mask and mix with the guests during the evening of the opening. It worked; all the opening guests believed she was Alex Diamond. It was in fact a performance and the success of it relied totally on the acting skills of the model. She did not get a script nor did she have to follow any guidelines; it all happened very naturally. Right from the moment she put on the mask, she slipped into the role of the artist and adapted it as if Alex Diamond was her alter ego. The next step would be having all types of people come in and want to wear the mask, pretending to be the real Alex Diamond. The artist’s identity would vanish, and at the same time the joint action itself turns into a performance. Is Alex Diamond a reflection upon what's happening in the art world right now? The Alex Diamond experiment is very conceptual, and it is this concept that defies the regulations of today’s art market. Without a doubt this market is strongly based on the supply and demand of admired and renowned artist personalities.

Alex Diamond at Iguapop gallery, barcelona, jan 2009Take big celebrities. Take artists like Damien Hirst or Takeshi Murakami, whose artworks and intentions gain attention only at a second stage most of the time. One has to admit that the "persona" of the artist is hyped and conventionalized to the general public as never before. Artists are increasingly becoming pop stars. But in the end, it will be the artworks and their contents that remain. With this in mind, Alex Diamond wants to be daring and take a step back. By keeping him hidden,  the project forces the sensation-seeking viewer to pause and to reflect on the virtual artwork itself. The concept wants to play with the audience - that is an audience believing in the artist as a genius creating a piece of work solely by himself.

Isabel Abele is an art historian from hamburg. she is the assistant director at heliumcobwoy artspace.