Hustle Hustle Hustle
There’s a good article by Elizabeth Shambelan in the recent issue of Artforum (Not on the web. You'll have to buy a copy) I was reading the other night. It’s broadly framed around a discussion of how the Pompidou center was essentially a tool of the French government to co-opt “the spirit of ‘68” in Paris, and thus stabilize and mitigate a burgeoning threat to their power. Sort of, "Look, we’re hip too!”
I won’t get too deeply into it, but focus of the article is a sociologist named Albert Meister who wrote a “what if” book about a bohemian, crunchy-granola and yoga society that builds a secret city below the then new museum and discards all traditional values. As Shambelan points out it’s a society based on refusal- the refusal to take part in the political system, the refusal to take part in the traditional social/corporate system. He predicts the rise of globalism and societies built on information technology. It all sounds very late 60s Utopian Society fuck The Man kind of idealism, but it got me thinking about the artist’s role in the “system.” It’s a very art school topic to discuss, and somewhat tired in most circles, but I think about this every year Miami Basel rolls around.
If the role of the artist is to reflect back upon society, to act as its mirror, how then is it possible to detach from the very system you should be available to critique once you’re part and parcel. Artists increasingly put their faith into the industrial mechanics of art commerce to gain a name and increase their audience. The model for this business is fairly standard now:
(Hit that image to see it larger)
I’ve used the classic business flowchart here because that’s what we’re talking about - capital 'B' Business. This isn’t a new concept. The blurry line between what’s commercially viable and what’s artistically significant is old hat. But in a society that is increasingly absorbed by a corporately sponsored reality, where the boundaries between the workplace and private life have all but dissolved, it begs the question: should the artist revolt against the business system of art. Should the practice of art be far more separate from a corporate identity than it’s become? The art stars of the world: the Hirsts, Currins, and Koons’ are the flagship products in what's become a big business. Even the quote unquote renegades like Dash Snow, Shepard Fairey, and Banksy, who often purport to criticize the business of art in their work are usually (willingly) co-opted by the very system they rail against. The seduction of legitimization at the hands of the gallery system is a powerful drug, Charlie Murphy.
Shouldn’t artists be the ones at the furthest margins of these machinations? I’m not arguing against corporations or big poppa business. People need jobs, and big markets need big companies. But with all the options available for connectivity, and the creativity inherent in the participants, I wonder why more viable and credible alternatives haven’t emerged to do the business of art. How do we detach from a system that's so firmly entrenched? Is this even an important question in the minds of most artists?
If I invent the new paradigm, I'll let you know. Maybe I can be the future CEO of big Art, Inc. (™)
I won’t get too deeply into it, but focus of the article is a sociologist named Albert Meister who wrote a “what if” book about a bohemian, crunchy-granola and yoga society that builds a secret city below the then new museum and discards all traditional values. As Shambelan points out it’s a society based on refusal- the refusal to take part in the political system, the refusal to take part in the traditional social/corporate system. He predicts the rise of globalism and societies built on information technology. It all sounds very late 60s Utopian Society fuck The Man kind of idealism, but it got me thinking about the artist’s role in the “system.” It’s a very art school topic to discuss, and somewhat tired in most circles, but I think about this every year Miami Basel rolls around.
If the role of the artist is to reflect back upon society, to act as its mirror, how then is it possible to detach from the very system you should be available to critique once you’re part and parcel. Artists increasingly put their faith into the industrial mechanics of art commerce to gain a name and increase their audience. The model for this business is fairly standard now:
(Hit that image to see it larger)
I’ve used the classic business flowchart here because that’s what we’re talking about - capital 'B' Business. This isn’t a new concept. The blurry line between what’s commercially viable and what’s artistically significant is old hat. But in a society that is increasingly absorbed by a corporately sponsored reality, where the boundaries between the workplace and private life have all but dissolved, it begs the question: should the artist revolt against the business system of art. Should the practice of art be far more separate from a corporate identity than it’s become? The art stars of the world: the Hirsts, Currins, and Koons’ are the flagship products in what's become a big business. Even the quote unquote renegades like Dash Snow, Shepard Fairey, and Banksy, who often purport to criticize the business of art in their work are usually (willingly) co-opted by the very system they rail against. The seduction of legitimization at the hands of the gallery system is a powerful drug, Charlie Murphy.
Shouldn’t artists be the ones at the furthest margins of these machinations? I’m not arguing against corporations or big poppa business. People need jobs, and big markets need big companies. But with all the options available for connectivity, and the creativity inherent in the participants, I wonder why more viable and credible alternatives haven’t emerged to do the business of art. How do we detach from a system that's so firmly entrenched? Is this even an important question in the minds of most artists?
If I invent the new paradigm, I'll let you know. Maybe I can be the future CEO of big Art, Inc. (™)
posted by Raymond at
2:16 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home