Alter-modernism...

I came across this article that was in the Guardian last winter following an exhibit at the Tate Modern. I like the idea of a new era being coined in art that is a resurgence of the avante-garde, and a push away from the of the ghost of post-modernism. Constructive rather than deconstructive and hopefully a movement that illuminates the glass tower of the elite high art world. (I think that may be my own wishful thinking and projection.) I am fond of the article written about it anyway.

This photo is from the Guardian and it is Charles Avery, my new art hero. His work is brilliant and interesting and subversive and well done. Back to a world where artists have skills and use them, themselves...

On the subject of an art revolution...

http://artisdeadbook.com/

Art is the cultural regurgitation of society, reflecting and often directing the changes social collectives experience. Collapse the illusion of the elitest art world!

We, those who call ourselves artists, must be wary against the art world fantasy that capitalist market traders have fed us. Artists have been turned into fetishized cultural commodities, who the powerful and elite determine the value of and cash in on the profit from. They profit from our labors (some artists have taken advantage of the capitalist system and hire out the ever de-valued art laborer, called "artisans"; at any rate those who labor the most make the least), and in exchange convince us that being enslaved into "success" (i.e. continuing to produce within a brandable style they can sell) is what we should strive for, drive ourselves toward, and starve for. Why should this be our highest goal, why should we think this is success? Art schools churn out hundreds of thousands of artists hoping to be in the small percentage of people who acheive any amount of decent recognition in their own lifetime and what is to happen of the rest? They keep on producing, hoping it will be their turn next, keeping up the lower echelons of the art market.

If all those hundreds of thousands of people used all the creative energy and money spent on the ladder climb (of which most never get past the first few rungs) instead spent their energy on building up the world around them, how quickly would the world change? The irony is that many artists believe themselves to be anti-capitalist, but still participate in the art-world lie. Bring it down, tear down the tower, give the power of creative ownership to everyone!

The Puppet show at the ICA

Upon entering the exhibit at the University of Pennsylvania's ICA, you are introduced to a variety of puppets via a corridor which leads into the show. These appear to be almost cultural remnants of "childhood" in a vague general sense, but at the same time of "childhoods childhood" if that makes sense. Thinking about the relevance of puppets in an age where Jim Henson does not necessarily rule the stage of imagination anymore for children, I wonder how many children of today are even familiar with movies like the Dark Crystal. To the generation of those of us who grew up with these sort of icons, we can look back to the age of puppetry with a sort of distant stare. Recently having made one of Noel I felt an even more intimate connection to the exhibits theme. It seems rather culturally relevant to me, however, in a more socio-political way, that a show about puppets would be fitting in this era. Especially coming from the contemporary art world whose artistic recognition and fame rest on the idea that they are willing to be manipulated by those with money and power within the art community. Removed from the art sphere, we as consumers have become the puppets of commercial producers, we as citizens have become the puppets of political powers, and so on. It is an important things to think about: Who holds the strings of your symbolic controls?

Art and artists function in our society in the same way that scientists, lawyers, and teachers, etc, do. We have roles which are not without social context. Simultaneously, we attempt to make a living at the profession that we have dedicated ourselves to. This is a double edged sword, not only for art as a profession, but also the previously mentioned ones. We cannot fully function in a meaningful way, which benefits both our social world and our own needs for investigation, expression and growth when we are consumed with keeping our bills paid.

Speaking of Celebrity Making...

The making of an art star, Jefferey Deitch style.

On Celebrity Figures and Creative Superstars...

In retrospect, advancements of this century in the arts and media have had both useful and annoying consequences. The experimentation in art fields and constantly evolving "modern" works have allowed artists, whose role had been previously prescribed, to take ownership and declare its position in society. To claim their contribution to society as far more relevant than it had been in the past. However, as the pendulum moved in the other direction, artists have somehow over estimated their role and ultimate self-worth. This overstatement has worked to confuse the well-meaning artist, and others, as to the significance or ultimate power held by them. In effect celebrities, and other public figures, are believed to become property of the society as a whole. This mis-construed sense of ownership is generally false. Ultimately, celebrity figures and the public who adore them, are both merely marionettes whose strings are held by dealers, producers, publishers and large corporate entities who "promote" these individuals. The artists are living advertisements whose life becomes the promotion of the goods produced by them. In the end, this serves to keep most people convinced of a social hierarchy which will maintain the status quo. This phenomena isn't new to this century, but has been blown out of proportion in this century by mass media and easily replicated images.