In visiting MOMA yesterday with my 5 year old niece, she was thrilled to see the Warhols, Pollacks, and Rothkos but she had serious issues with Marina Abramovic’s exhibit The Artist is Present which consists of the artist sitting at a table without talking the entire day.
“Why is this art?” I was asked, to which my best answer was, “art can mean many things, it used to refer to creating something very skillfully that would make people think and feel, but now often a concept can be art”
“Anyone can sit and stare. It looks silly and doesn’t take any special skill!”
While I agreed, I respected Marina’s incredible talent at self promotion, after all she is getting handsomely paid by one of the most reputable museums in the world to do nothing more than my class does every time I teach. “Some people believe this exhibit is a great example of performance art, where the artist makes people feel through her work and it makes us discuss the meaning of art.”
“I think it’s dumb, worse than the New Museum show with the sleeping girls. Why is she in the museum?”
I realized that people who consider themselves intelligent have choices when viewing this exhibit, they can let themselves feel the experience and not try to analyze it, they can get angry or jealous about what feels like a complete scam, they can pretend to appreciate it by intellectualizing the event to their friends or they can see it like my niece who followed, “Can we go to see the Picasso? He’s so special!” but before I could reply she asked, “Where does Maura pee?”
I resisted the temptation to explain that the artist’s dress is probably covering up a bucket that lets her relieve herself by replying, “That’s what makes her so talented, bladder control.”
Coda: Those in the art community who vehemently defend this work may truly believe it is meaningful art or they may simply lack to self-confidence to appear “unsophisticated”. I suspect many fall in the latter bucket. Generally in life we sometimes make false arguments out of fear of the bad impression that our honest opinion or true motivation will make. No politician can state, “I only care about those who contribute to my campaign or vote for me and I sure as hell know that the uninsured won’t vote for me and will never give me a penny” so they present arguments that appear as intellectualized distractions, taking people on wild goose chases on topics that range from flag burning to Willie Horton to welfare madams to how deeply someone bows when visiting a foreign dignitary to inadvertent cursing during signing ceremonies rather than talking openly and honestly about the real issues in society and true motivations of those with the power and influence to make changes.
“Why is this art?” I was asked, to which my best answer was, “art can mean many things, it used to refer to creating something very skillfully that would make people think and feel, but now often a concept can be art”
“Anyone can sit and stare. It looks silly and doesn’t take any special skill!”
While I agreed, I respected Marina’s incredible talent at self promotion, after all she is getting handsomely paid by one of the most reputable museums in the world to do nothing more than my class does every time I teach. “Some people believe this exhibit is a great example of performance art, where the artist makes people feel through her work and it makes us discuss the meaning of art.”
“I think it’s dumb, worse than the New Museum show with the sleeping girls. Why is she in the museum?”
I realized that people who consider themselves intelligent have choices when viewing this exhibit, they can let themselves feel the experience and not try to analyze it, they can get angry or jealous about what feels like a complete scam, they can pretend to appreciate it by intellectualizing the event to their friends or they can see it like my niece who followed, “Can we go to see the Picasso? He’s so special!” but before I could reply she asked, “Where does Maura pee?”
I resisted the temptation to explain that the artist’s dress is probably covering up a bucket that lets her relieve herself by replying, “That’s what makes her so talented, bladder control.”
Coda: Those in the art community who vehemently defend this work may truly believe it is meaningful art or they may simply lack to self-confidence to appear “unsophisticated”. I suspect many fall in the latter bucket. Generally in life we sometimes make false arguments out of fear of the bad impression that our honest opinion or true motivation will make. No politician can state, “I only care about those who contribute to my campaign or vote for me and I sure as hell know that the uninsured won’t vote for me and will never give me a penny” so they present arguments that appear as intellectualized distractions, taking people on wild goose chases on topics that range from flag burning to Willie Horton to welfare madams to how deeply someone bows when visiting a foreign dignitary to inadvertent cursing during signing ceremonies rather than talking openly and honestly about the real issues in society and true motivations of those with the power and influence to make changes.
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I am anxious to read some blogs from you regarding those "real issues in society and true motivations of those with the power and influence to make changes." Therein lies the news that no one broadcasts.
ReplyDeleteWill do my best. There's often news on these subjects...usually just not in the mainstream press.
ReplyDelete