Abstract
This paper develops an alternative to the institutional theory of art, though it is inspired by it. It keeps its basic insight, namely that to be an artwork is not a revealed intrinsic quality of a thing, but rather a matter of a proper relation of this thing to a human activity and thought.
This relation is constructed solely based on the intention of an independent individual (or individuals) and not based on a public act (bestowing a status of a candidate of appreciation) performed in an institutional context created by many individuals.