“The mother of idiots is always pregnant”--Italian proverb
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Is it Art?
...and just who is art for? The Patron? The Artist? The General Public? No One? Life Is Like Riding A Bicycle. In Order To Keep Your Balance, You Must Keep Moving...
Are you "stuck" on stuckism? Or can art, even photography, be non-political?
Maybe i am a stuckist and i never knew it. The definition applies to all my favs. Can it be non political? Yes. But then beauty for the sake of beauty is still making a statement.
I think that art for the artist alone is non-political. The moment one shares it... it becomes political, even if that sharing occurs after the artist's death.
Ulterior is my "word for the day"... seeking that which lies behind the veil. ;)
In other words, I suppose I believe in making art... but not developing or supplying a supporting narrative to accompany and "promote" it. In keeping the artists motives ulterior.... as well as keeping the majority of one's works... private.
It would be refreshing to forgoe the commercialization and branding that accompanies so many "products" in today's society... from art, to "people" as works of art (celebrities).
But then, putting one's work out there is part of the process. Learning to let go of expectations and attachments to the opinions of others. Everyone is a critic, afterall.
I agree with the artist, that a person's "life" can and should most definitely be a "work of art"... but that one should need an "audience" of something "more" than one's friends and family... THAT is the "message" that I find "troublesome".
What I love about reading ancient texts and works, is the fact that they stand "on their own merit", mute to critics and popular fashion. Now, many of these works were extremely "popular" and well acclaimed in their day... which doesn't, IMO, detract from them... but to the extent they still stand today is, IMO, a testament to the inherent "timelessness" of their message, that it still resonates in human hearts and minds today.
And I suppose, when I read them today, I am unconcerned about the "ulterior motives" of the author, I'm more concerned with the motives of those (like myself) who would give rise to praising them.
... or of praising such a popular notion as authenticity.
But in our "consumer oriented post-modern society"... what is "popular" is not merely "authenticity", but more accurately, "authenticity without consequences"... where one is shielded from the resulting consequences result from the bad choices that an authentic individual might make... in other words, "authenticity w/o risk".
People want authenticity, but without suffering the consequences of bad, but authentic, decisions. I don't blame them for desiring the fantasy... just for believing that they can achieve it iin an easy and "painless" way... and the lack of insight that leads to that kind of belief.
Real authenticty is anything but painless and inconsequential.
...as soon as the authentic act is performed publically, one has to question the motive... if it should be taken for face value... or an ulterior motive. Very few, IMO, should be taken at face value... especially in our "commercialized" media driven pop culture... the Society of the Spectacle... where control is achieved through the spectacle and an artificial Grand Narrative.
...the "NPR" narrative... from the perspective of the self-negating Lacanian "University Dialectic"... where we can all enjoy coffee w/0 caffein, sex w/o pregnancies or STDs, and are made to feel guilty if we don't.
I suppose it starts at home. What do we praise our children for? Performance, or honesty? Living with appearances as a top priority kills the true self. So many people don't even know who they are, they've been pretending for so long.
The thing is, authentic decisions may lead to pain, but that doesn't necessarily make it a bad decision. Suffering is necessary.
Maybe i am a stuckist and i never knew it. The definition applies to all my favs. Can it be non political? Yes. But then beauty for the sake of beauty is still making a statement.
ReplyDeleteI think that art for the artist alone is non-political. The moment one shares it... it becomes political, even if that sharing occurs after the artist's death.
ReplyDeleteUlterior is my "word for the day"... seeking that which lies behind the veil. ;)
For example, the bicyclist who makes the art works pictured. What do he say in publicizing his work? Is it an anti-carbon statement?
ReplyDeleteHere I am... looking for ulterior motives. Building up a paranoiac critical vision...
*shakes head*
Beauty or Sublimity... it all a frame of mind, I suupose
Bad link, above.
ReplyDeleteThe bicycle artist is such an acer. ;)
ReplyDeleteIf a truly authentic act were to occur in the midst of a city, would anyone notice? Or would all the acer's be too self-absorbed to notice?
ReplyDeleteYou always seem to be looking for something behind the veil.
ReplyDeleteI rarely know the artist's motive. And when I do,sometimes I wish I didn't.
And yes, people would notice.
Sometimes knowing the motive is a downer, and shows the artist's bitterness. So little contemporary art is life affirming.
ReplyDeletei find the bicyclist's art very life affirming... but only to the degree that he keeps it to himself.
ReplyDeleteIn other words, I suppose I believe in making art... but not developing or supplying a supporting narrative to accompany and "promote" it. In keeping the artists motives ulterior.... as well as keeping the majority of one's works... private.
ReplyDeleteIt would be refreshing to forgoe the commercialization and branding that accompanies so many "products" in today's society... from art, to "people" as works of art (celebrities).
ReplyDeleteI agree with your second comment. I keep most of my stuff to myself. It is hard to put such intimate soul-baearing work out there.
ReplyDeleteBut then, putting one's work out there is part of the process. Learning to let go of expectations and attachments to the opinions of others. Everyone is a critic, afterall.
ReplyDeleteThis is why I'm sypathetic to the Stuckists...
ReplyDelete...talk about an acer.
That...frustrates me.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the artist, that a person's "life" can and should most definitely be a "work of art"... but that one should need an "audience" of something "more" than one's friends and family... THAT is the "message" that I find "troublesome".
ReplyDeleteC'est la vie...
What I love about reading ancient texts and works, is the fact that they stand "on their own merit", mute to critics and popular fashion. Now, many of these works were extremely "popular" and well acclaimed in their day... which doesn't, IMO, detract from them... but to the extent they still stand today is, IMO, a testament to the inherent "timelessness" of their message, that it still resonates in human hearts and minds today.
ReplyDeleteAnd I suppose, when I read them today, I am unconcerned about the "ulterior motives" of the author, I'm more concerned with the motives of those (like myself) who would give rise to praising them.
... or of praising such a popular notion as authenticity.
ReplyDeleteBut in our "consumer oriented post-modern society"... what is "popular" is not merely "authenticity", but more accurately, "authenticity without consequences"... where one is shielded from the resulting consequences result from the bad choices that an authentic individual might make... in other words, "authenticity w/o risk".
The popular concept of authenticity is hollow. In my opinion, striving for authenticity in a public way is...inauthentic.
ReplyDeleteThe real stuff happens when one is alone.
We are most definitely in agreement.
ReplyDeletePeople want authenticity, but without suffering the consequences of bad, but authentic, decisions. I don't blame them for desiring the fantasy... just for believing that they can achieve it iin an easy and "painless" way... and the lack of insight that leads to that kind of belief.
Real authenticty is anything but painless and inconsequential.
...as soon as the authentic act is performed publically, one has to question the motive... if it should be taken for face value... or an ulterior motive. Very few, IMO, should be taken at face value... especially in our "commercialized" media driven pop culture... the Society of the Spectacle... where control is achieved through the spectacle and an artificial Grand Narrative.
ReplyDelete...the "NPR" narrative... from the perspective of the self-negating Lacanian "University Dialectic"... where we can all enjoy coffee w/0 caffein, sex w/o pregnancies or STDs, and are made to feel guilty if we don't.
ReplyDeleteI suppose it starts at home. What do we praise our children for? Performance, or honesty? Living with appearances as a top priority kills the true self. So many people don't even know who they are, they've been pretending for so long.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is, authentic decisions may lead to pain, but that doesn't necessarily make it a bad decision. Suffering is necessary.
So many people don't even know who they are, they've been pretending for so long.
ReplyDelete...through the one-way medium of television...
...interpassively pretending.