Art that is trashy, trash that is art.
Oh, don't be so judgemental! Why so serious, it's only a joke. And who are you to judge? Everything is a matter of taste (which means pure subjectivity now, making the concept of 'good taste' largely redundant-except in the rarefied circles of wine tasting). It will all be forgotten in a few years anyway. Ceaseless change, remember!
In any case, the sentiment chimes with democratic sensibilities (no more authority, no more sacred and profane realms. Rushdie got it right, didn't he?).
Let us not talk about needs because that suggests limitation, dependency. What we want is an empty vessel that has no ties to a specific place or time but that can dream of everything. Desire, imagination and luxury as the unbounded, the foundation of capitalism: excess.
What drives the industry of mankind forward, if not objective value, refinement? The desire for trinkets and baubles, Adam Smith would say. But if "deception" is so central then in what sense is it "forward"? Well, as long as its new and glitzy does it really matter? This disdain for the past, narratives, and continuity is as radical as that of the Commies. Tear it all up and start again from ground zero. Perhaps nothing sounds as unfamiliar to us as 'sayings'...the war against cliches..what we want, after all, is knowledge and not other people's words-whether wise or not.
Art must be kept free from ethics, politics to maintain its freedom to explore, to shock us out of our bourgeois complacence. Except, of course, all that is old hat and terribly boring. A fascination for the ordinary can only be of interest when it is in tension with the extraordinary. Otherwise it just sinks into mundane banalities, pettiness and trivia. A constant desire for the new is as predictable and stifling as the desire for no change.
~~~
Tracey Emin's bed to sell for 1.2 million. Are you serious?
~~~
There is no "up", no "down". No good or evil, just the law. Truth is what you make of it. Fabrication.
What is fake and what is real?
Scruton: http://bagginsandco.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/fakin-it4-33.html
5 comments:
1> "foundation of capitalism: excess "
2> "a constant desire for the new"
yes, those two principles pretty much sum it up. It seems so ridiculous now, to still long for the relative permanence of art objects, for their aura of uniqueness
Yes, I think you're right, fff. Hannah A has some nice thoughts on this. In fact, isn't it the case that any object or any relation that suggests continuity or duration is now castigated as being 'conservative'.
But, yes, I hadn't thought about the uniqueness point you make. Part of the fake bit, I guess, is that anything genuine can be copied, mimicked, faked, ridiculed.
Gopnik has this lovely introduction (online) to 'Molly Hughes' in which he says we may look back at the old, solid world of the bourgeoisie with some nostalgia. I think that's about right.
will be checking out Molly Hughes
best
fff
though there might still be a reason to fall in love with contemporary art after all, look here:
http://designtaxi.com/news/365764/Edible-Art-A-Room-With-Walls-Coated-In-Thick-Chocolate/?t=1400702391102&interstital_shown=1
:-)))
Ooohhh..that's so tempting!
:-)))
on a serious note, though, it does sort of reinforce the point about the desire to create something different, something that hasn't been done before-even if it's quite silly.
Glad to have you back! Hope all is well?
Take care,
k.
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