Which artists have become household names?

Comparing the coverage of artists in mainstream media versus specialist art publications shows that the same names keep coming up, again and again.

The top 20 most ‘mentioned’ artists in the world, for both general publications and art-world publications. Weighted Media Index is calculated to take into account where and how the artist is mentioned (Source: Articker/Phillips)

What does it mean to be a famous artist? Just think of the brand recognition of historic figures like Van Gogh and Andy Warhol, whose work is constantly being copied, exhibited, and ‘experienced’ around the world. Many living artists also experience genuine ‘fame’ –  consider, for instance, the ever-mystical Banksy. You might not know them if they walked past you on the street, but you know their work. 

Headlines and mentions in the media are no doubt a key indicator of fame. But the extent to which different kinds of press coverage, whether within the general media or the art world media, have a causal effect on an artist’s career is unclear. Validation from art world publications such as Artforum is certainly something to include in an artist’s CV, and signals recognition among their taste-making peers. However, as we have previously discussed on Critical Edge, on social media the total ‘followers’ of an artist does not necessarily correspond with the number of ‘art-world’ followers – general exposure does not mean peer validation.

To this end, it is worth looking at which living artists are the most written about in different kinds of media today, so that we can figure out who is really considered a household name, and whether specialist art publications are taking a less populist approach – or giving exposure to the same artists again and again.

The Numbers

Articker, an art tech company that analyses millions of online articles from around the world, provided Critical Edge with data on the top 20 most ‘mentioned’ living artists in both ‘top general publications’ and ‘top art publications’ over the last 5 years (2018–22). Some of the top general publications include the New York Times, the BBC, Le Monde and The Guardian. Top art publications include the likes of Artforum, Hyperallergic, Artnet News and The Art Newspaper.

The lists are at first unsurprising, made up of the usual suspects – those you would expect to be included in a run-down of the most ‘famous’ living artists. Banksy, ironically for someone whose true identity is secret, occupies the top slot on both lists, and is twice as popular in both types of media as the number two artists – David Hockney in general publications and Jeff Koons in art publications.

Female artists are a minority across the broad, with half of both the lists made up of middle-aged white men. Yayoi Kusama is the top female artist on both lists, and Ai Weiwei the top non-white artist.

More surprisingly, perhaps, the two lists are quite similar overall, with 18 of the 20 slots on both filled by the artists, although in slightly different orders. Artists like KAWS, Takashi Murakami, and Beeple are given more exposure in the general media than in the art world media, while Olafur Eliasson and Anish Kapoor are apparently less interesting to the general public than to the art world.

It is clear that certain artists, although talented, are on these top 20 lists more for their activities outside of their art than for their practice – Yoko Ono and Nan Goldin for example. Goldin’s battle with addiction and activism in the struggle against the opioid crisis in the US is no small contributor to her fame.

And there are some significant differences when you dig down. ‘Artforum really likes covering Jeff Koons,’ says Konrad Imielinski, co-founder of Articker, ‘but Banksy is practically absent.’ In the five-year period, a quick search on Artforum’s website shows over five times as many mentions of Koons than Banksy.

The Insight

Those working ‘inside’ the art world can be guilty of thinking they are somehow different from the general public. But what these two lists show is that the art world – or at least the art press – pays attention to the same artists time and again, the same as everybody else. This might be frustrating for those who complain that there are many more deserving artists who are not receiving any exposure. 

Perhaps what this demonstrates is that the art media is just as susceptible to the incentives that drive the general media. In a recent blog post, art market journalist Tim Schneider wrote about the recent media obsession with the accidental breaking of a $42,000 Jeff Koons sculpture of a dog at a minor art fair in Miami. The work is one of an edition of 799, and part of a much larger pool of similar works of varying sizes and colours: the media attention paid to it was significantly out of proportion to its singularity as a work of art. And yet, as Schneider wrote, ‘in a flattened media ecology, where legacy mastheads are as responsive to clickbait as cut-rate online news aggregators … masses will continue to associate contemporary art mainly with astronomical prices, viral stunts, or behavior that deserves to be mocked.’

There are artists doing undeniably important work within these lists. Marina Abramovic and Yoko Ono are both pioneers in their fields, and Olafur Eliasson and Nan Goldin have made major contributions through their activism as well as their art. But many of the artists on these lists – Koons, Damien Hirst, Gerhard Richter – are there not because of their practice necessarily, but because of their markets. The seven- or eight-figure sales of their work quoted in headlines are what generates clicks and revenue for the media outlets.

The variables that need to be understood for people to know which artists will ‘stand the test of time’ are complex, but understanding which artists are most mentioned in the media is part of that equation. Although they do not paint the full picture, these lists nevertheless point out what is constantly pushed into the public’s consciousness, and, by extension, what they consider the ‘contemporary art world’ to be.

Jeff Koons's Balloon Dog at Bel-Air Fine Art stand at Art Wynwood fair. Right: the work smashed on the floor. Courtesy Bel-Air Fine Art

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