‘Fame as an Illusion of Creativity' - Banerjee Mitali

Thesis

he paper we will be discussing in this episode is entitled ‘Fame as an Illusion of Creativity : Evidence from the Pioneers of Abstract Art’, in which today’s guest, Banerjee Mitali, strives to answer the following question : what are the main factors that determine an artist's likeness to become famous. Mitali, who is currently an assistant professor of strategy and business policy at HEC in Paris, was unsatisfied with the current research, quoting from her intro: “Little work has explored the factors that shape a producer’s fame in creative markets. Much of what exists, notably Simonton’s (1980) research, has focused on creativity as the sole driver of an innovator’s fame. However, the extant evidence is mixed regarding the link between creativity and fame”. In this discussion Mitali describes how her innovative empirical approach, where she partnered with the MoMA to analyze the social connections between 90 leading artists of the early 20th century, shows that one’s social context is among the strongest indicator of potential fame. As she explains it : “ past work overlooks a key insight that creativity in cultural and entrepreneurial contexts is itself a function of the social structure in which an individual is embedded”. So without further ado here is Mitali Banerjee to discuss ‘Fame as an Illusion of Creativity’.