Quick Essay on Chicago Artist Identity
read this.
do people living in other cities feel the same way?
Is this just some bullshit angle, a spin on artists' identity aimed for recognition, uniqueness? Buy this art because it is not aware that it is a product
Process over product is something that I identify with, and in fact, feel proud/energized to know other chicagoans perceive their actions in the same way. But it seems contradictory, in a bad way, to end this type of sentiment, found in the essay, with an encouragement to buy the very art that claims it doesn't care whether it is bought or not.
But still, the artists efforts seem awesome, and this is just the way the essay's writer has spun them.
posted by Black Lodge at 3:59:00 PM
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4 Comments:
Wow, great question Kevin. I'm so separated from the New York art scene - that meaning art as an object. The Art that I'm involved in and spend my money on is performance based or readings. I think I stay away from the art scene in the Chelsea area of Manhattan because I feel like its very pose and monetarily driven. The Brooklyn scene seems to try wear the attitude of, “we’re only in it for the art” but while living in Williamsburg I saw more people hanging around than doing art.
While in Portland Maine I went on a gallery tour with my good friend Jefferson Navicky. It was so great and so community based. We were able to look at good art all while scoring a free meal of wine and cheese. The offering of good art, conversation and food to me is the basis of all great communities and should always be the focuses. I saw some price tags while walking around, $3000 for some work, but because of the unobtrusive nature of the galleries I wasn't turned off by the numbers. I just thought, wow wouldn't that be nice if that guy sold that.
I think the person who wrote that article has the right idea but I’d feel a lot better about it if they were like, “come down to our gallery, check out awesome art, eat good cheese, hummus and crackers, slug some wine and tell us what you think.” I would fully back that kind of scene and if I met a great artist while I was there, I’d want to know how I could support her.
My personal opinion is that the "starving artist" or poor artist is a romantic notion. I don't think money always effects(affects?) art, but I think it sometimes does. It takes some sort of drive to make art and for some it might be misery. It doesn't take being poor to be miserable. I think that when the artist fails is when s/he is (overly or overtly) concerned with the audience or the message or both. To me, this is more often the failure.
Why shouldn't artists sell their art for big money? They're still not making much, and still very few are doing that well. It's not like you see artists in hummers smoking cigars while pumping gas. Is it? I think it's more important to be concerned with the art than the scene. Sure there are some pretentious fucks in every town when it comes to the arts. Chicago has, to me (in my few days there), felt a little less ambitious or maybe a little less interested in proving it's art to the rest of the world. I think that that can be both a good thing and a bad thing depending on what you want out of a community. And I think it comes down to a more individual basis. Some are more comfortable with (or interested in) recognition than others...
Jamba,
Who do you like better:
Weather Experiment or Hot Whiskey?
Ohhhhh, good one!!!!
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