humility vs. intention vs. self-promotion

In a recent dialog, it would appear that having humility makes an artist more "genuine".

For sake of ease, I will use excerpts from Wikipedia to point out some definitions and philosphy of humility:


Humility, in various interpretations, is widely seen as a virtue in many religious and philosophical traditions, being connected with notions of transcendent unity with the universe or the divine, and of egolessness.


Kant is among the first philosophers to view conception of humility as "that meta-attitude that constitutes the moral agent's proper perspective on himself as a dependent and corrupt but capable and dignified rational agent". Kant's notion of humility is that humility is a virtue, and indeed a central virtue.

A non-specific source suggests that humility may also come from pride, as in the owner doing it over dramatically or doing it in such a way that others know the person is a narcissist.



Mahatma Gandhi is attributed as suggesting that attempting to sustain truth without humility is doomed to cause it to become instead an "arrogant caricature" of truth.

While most schools of thought view humility as a virtue, some have been sharply critical of it, seeing it as opposed to individualism, specifically the value and excellence of the individual.
Nietzsche wrote of humility as a weakness, a false virtue that concealed the frailties and hidden crookedness in its holder.
His idealized "Übermensch" would be more apt to roam around unfettered by pretensions of humility, proud of his stature and power, but not reveling idly in it, and certainly not displaying hubris.

In psychology, egolessness is an emotional state where one feels no ego (or self); of having no distinct being apart from the world around oneself. The described feeling of oneness (of being inextricably woven to the fabric of one's surroundings or environment) is thought to be akin to egolessness.
 

Taoism:

[a wise person] acts without claiming the results as his; he achieves his merit and does not rest (arrogantly) in it: -- he does not wish to display his superiority.

So, now that there is some info under our belt, back to the conversation.


The dialog involved the use of appropriation in art: there are those that appropriate because they are immature with their artistic voice or even lazy and those that appropriate with actions while maintaining humility.

Ah HA!!! Well, now that is not about artists intention, but about who they are as a person - is the artist narcissistic or humble?

There is an example that is substantiated by a press release that a gallery wrote, sighting that a particular artist  (referred to as Artist #2 later) had a humble approach to their work which was later copied in a press blurb. In fact, I have seen this on more than one occasion. 

This was followed by a panel QandA:

When asked why they appropriate, artist #1 says, "This is to make a common known notion into something new for people to think about".
Artist #2 says, "I copy because they did it so much better than I could".
 
How suddenly is it that artist #1 does not know the meaning of appropriation and artist #2 is humble and being more action oriented??
How is it that artist #1 who writes their own manifesto is "full of themselves", while copy-pasting an original manifesto written in the 1920's makes artist #2 more aware of current contemporary art??

Furthermore,
If the 2 artists are going to art openings, doing panels/salons, making "friends", applying for grants, having/going to parties, meeting museum curators, getting reviews, having small museum opportunities and residency opportunities, both want to "make a living" as artists, saying art is first - money does not matter -- how is one artist being more humble than the other?

It seems that people are just perpetuating old notions.
They want change and new things, but in actuality,
it may just be easier to like and support the humble artist.

What artist #1 did to make You think they aren't humble....that is the question.

I am not sure what the future will hold if we go the way of selecting artists because we like them, and take the work they bring, even if #1 is a better artist.