Santa Nastro's Investigation into How Artists Live and Survive

Santa Nastro's book "Come vivono gli artisti?" (Castelvecchi Editore, 2022) investigates the economic and professional precarity of contemporary artists in Italy. Through statistical data and testimonies, Nastro reveals that only 27% of artists can live from their work (source: Art Workers Italia). The book, illustrated by Marco Raparelli, critiques the art system's entanglement with finance and tourism, arguing that artists are caught between a desire for freedom and the need for economic validation. Nastro highlights how the pandemic accelerated the shift toward digital promotion and NFTs, blurring the line between financial transaction and aesthetic experience. Artists like Grazia Toderi, Fabrizio Bellomo, and Iaconesi & Persico denounce the dominance of marketing and curatorial supervision that standardizes artistic production. The book also notes the lack of institutional support and the ephemeral nature of art events, exemplified by the 2020 exhibition "La rivoluzione siamo noi" in Piacenza. Nastro's work aims to restore the human dimension of the artist, oscillating between recognition and failure.