sweat shop
avant car guard soon to be launched. it was highly amusing being on the sidelines while the boys worked themselves stupid trying to get the books printed, screened and ready in time for the launch in cape town next week. it was sweat shop environment; they suddenly turned into small indonesian children with nimble fingers to work the machinery. art merch at its best. rad.
finally
the series has started. "is it art? or just anger?" invvestigations into the graffiti subculture present in durban. its more just to see how purely ugly and crap some of it can actually be. is it bullshit or worthwhile? i still have no answer as the level of skill and forms are so different- some have actually surprised me with how great they can look. others, ha. no comment.
it is.
it is cause i is angry, and shit. i've decided. there's a new series coming soon. these things just take time. and so much fucking effort that after awhile i cant be arsed. will try. getting angry and drunk does help- i'll work on it.
is it because i is angry
cant decide if its because im talentless, utterly useless, angry, or was just plain drunk. im going with angry drunk. it certainly is utterly amusing whatever it is.
tired and bored
so ive been a terrible blogger lately, just too much admin and work to get through these days and havent had time to upload new pictures. its coming. learn patience. and fuck off and do something more constructive with your time. ha. i have time now, but cant really be arsed. dallas is on and i totally need to watch. far better priorities to manage. i kid and am turning wierd, but will be bothered to fix, upgrade, improve, write better and interest those poor sods who happen to come past this site.
have a great day.
more rants
i think we have to be bolder with stating what we clearly like and dislike- its all subjective- so who cares whether the artist wanted to do 7 fingers-thats cool- and if in responce i hate it, well thats okay too. art has become far too concerned with the 'cool'- so many of the new up and coming artists are so stuck up their own arses with what is in, whats taboo, trying to push the limits, and being controversial rather than just going with their own ideas, having some clues as to where the ideas come from, embrace their heritage, background, influences, bullshit and all the rest. i hate it that you have to be in the know to understand current conceptual art- that its some elite society without access to ordinary people. thats why too many people are terrified to comment on whether they like something or not- why they are too scared to say whether its shit or not- as they are too afraid that if they hate it, then that means that they simply dont understand it, they are out of the loop, stupid, and clueless. its such shit. let it impact on you, if you dont understand at least have the balls to ask, claim it, find out the background, and if you still think its bad, then say it. be proud. there is too much rubbish out there to accept it blindly- without interrogating it or having personal opinions.i write shit, but this is becoming increasingly important and relevant these days- too many people think that art belongs in some fancy places, removed from everyone, and that you need some hard core degree from an acclaimed institute in foreign shores to produce it, that it comes with age, experience and understanding. sometimes it just comes- sometimes its ugly, sometimes its amazing and comes from a kid. the world is complex and simple at the same time- why is art, the most subjective subject and practise of them all any different.
this blog isnt made to support bad art or to condone it in any way- may others are out there to do so- rather i want to make a space to discuss the rubbish, self indulgent side of art in all its forms- not just painting or contemporary mediums but all forms- from angsty modern dancing all about rape and arm movements, to the crap plays like 'we will rock you' where the performers actually have the balls to call themselves artists. are you shitting me? i wanted to make a space where i can rant about this, how much it bothers me,and how im an intricate part and producer of it all. that and i was bored of my other blog and wanted to rant somewhere else. art, whatever that means, has become something i love to hate and visa versa. it can always be amazingly crap, and pathetically amazing all at the same time. so there. im bored even with myself now.
im off to watch dallas now.
the beginning
THE QUESTION OF GOOD VS. BAD ART
The question was recently posed whether people should feel guilty for calling a piece of artwork "bad", as if the notion of passing judgement on such an intangible and subjective item was not only impossible but wrong. Being the opinionated artist that I am, I could not resist a little commentary.
People have been defining art as bad and good since the first hand outline was sketched on a cave wall. In the very early days, when art was really about representation, rather than expression, it was a little easier to say, "5 fingers, yes, that's right" or "arms don't bend that way, do they?". However, art is now an open field. Common opinions of bad and good often are directed by the fashions of the times, but art is now clearly a subjective thing. If the hand has 7 fingers, it can now mean whatever you want it to mean (what historians sometimes forget, however, is that often the artist just felt like doing seven damn fingers).
Within the world of art, there is a troubling trend. Many people have become scared to say, "I think that is good/bad." Viewers go into galleries and say, "I don't know what I like. Please tell me what is Good." I ask myself how it is possible for people to abdicate their own opinions. These viewers are afraid of being wrong, and thus looking foolish. Some are intimidated by the over-intellectualization that has gone on among critics, to the point where the real art is the b.s. in reviewers' essays instead of the particular piece they are reviewing. Other viewers are influenced by the pseudo-politically-correct "open-mindedness" attitude that scares them from passing judgement. Still others are extremely uncomfortable with the uncertainty in art. These people like their world clearly defined, so they prop up gurus to prioritize and categorize for them.
The truth is that good merely means "I like" and bad means "I dislike". The art world requires the concepts of subjective good and bad, because that is what drives the desire for improvement and the hard work that goes with it. Without judgements, we would be surrounded by mediocrity. As I write this, I happen to be in my studio surrounded by quite a few pieces that I would loudly define as bad. Bad! Bad! Bad! That is what over-painting and the term "first draft" were invented for. I never mind when a critic praises or disparages artwork, but I would like more of the world to have the confidence to rate the commentary as just another opinion, rather than word-from-on-high.
We need to be comfortable with the terms good and bad, and also understand their meanings and limitations. We need to be accepting of others' opinions, and be willing to listen and possibly change their own. Opinions, shared ideas, and discourse drive progress and keep great art flowing forth.
