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.