Joseph Beuys, probably the best known and most influential German artist of the 20th century, attracted a lot of attention with the sentence “Every human being is an artist”. 

 

In an interview with Der Spiegel in 1984, Beuys spoke the following words: “Every human being is a bearer of abilities, a self-determining being, the sovereign par excellence in our time. He is an artist, whether he is a garbage collector, a nurse, a doctor, an engineer or a farmer. There, where he unfolds his abilities, he is an artist. I am not saying that this is more likely to lead to art in painting than in mechanical engineering …”

 

What Beuys meant at the time was too obvious for some – too social. Yet his critical, anti-capitalist stance sometimes came to the fore. His perspective primarily sees every human being having a part in shaping society. This worldview literally cries out for openness and freedom – which fits perfectly into the image of a modern society. But what does this look like today? What dangers lurk behind this openness?

 

Today we – especially as media creators – repeatedly encounter the problem that nowadays “everyone is a content creator”. Whether in the graphics, music, video or photo industries. Anyone can push buttons and sometimes you even become an expert “at the push of a button”. This phenomenon causes problems for many specialists and creates a lack of knowledge in the general image of media creators.

 

In connection with this, the value of creative work decreases, since it is assumed that everyone can design something in this regard. On the other hand, creative services are also seen as a hobby.

 

In order to avoid this problem with customers, one should present all costs with transparency, clarify all expenditures and compile in advance a plan as exact as possible, to which it is necessary to orient oneself. Not infrequently, however, there is also great potential to take certain “button-pushing” into one’s own hands as an institution. For companies, it can be quite advantageous to train their employees for simple procedures and processes or even to have them trained by specialists. 

 

It is not uncommon for us as media specialists to offer our clients services to find a sustainable, future-oriented and long-term solution internally – within the company or institution. 

 

A simple example: Nowadays, no medium-sized or large company should be without a “social media specialist”. And it is precisely such specialists who are in demand when it comes to day-to-day work. For example, a post or story in the social media for marketing purposes. A social media specialist who takes photos, edits short videos or even writes informative articles ensures engagement and is indispensable. We deepen when it comes to defining a plan and advise with market-oriented proposals such as “micro-influence” or in the development of social media “persona”. Thus, a strong campaign is already in the best hands and ensures promising, effective, engaging results.