Day: November 20, 2007

And speaking of the lifeworld, check out these prospective utopias in Manhattan.

(the images came from Curbed, here and here)

Re: the Momenta Art exhibition "Air Kissing: An Exhibition of Contemporary Art about the Art World," in Brooklyn, NY:

Me, prereviewing the show on Paddy Johnson's blog: "The last thing I want to see is an extended whine about how horrible/capitalistic/phony the art world is--as content. There are just more pressing issues from the life world that artists could be addressing."

Artist m.river's reply, also on Johnson's blog: "Yeah Tom, like circles, gif animations and electro. Way to hold us up to your higher standards for art.

On another note, the show is great."

My reply, currently in moderation on Johnson's blog: "More circles, gif animations, and electro, less whiny art about other people's art and what a dreadful place the art world is, I say. Thanks for drawing the poles so clearly, m.river."

Update: I'm joking here about prereviewing the show but it's hopefully clear to all but artist TWhid that my remarks on Johnson's blog were addressed to the general topic of "art about the art world" and the work of this ilk I *have* seen.

For the record, here's what I wrote on Johnson's blog that didn't really get responded to:

I disagree with this reasoning: Because some artists have made art about the art world, one must think they blow if one thinks art about the art world blows. (e.g. Alex Bag–she has other personae besides art-specific personae.)

...[I]t’s often a sign that an artist has jumped the shark when s/he starts making art about art. (E.g, Lichtenstein’s awful Leger quotations, Jim Dine’s Greek statues… Sherrie Levine was an exception because a philosophical point about authorship was being made–at least until she started doing gold urinals. Similarly Andrea Fraser’s museum tours were kind of interesting but fucking the collector was just belaboring the point.)

That was my complaint about the Cory Arcangel screen burning piece–the subject was the mechanics of art display and the types of screens "A" list artists get to destroy as opposed to overlooked wharf rats. The last thing I want to see is an extended whine about how horrible/capitalistic/phony the art world is--as content. There are just more pressing issues from the life world that artists could be addressing.