The most wonderful person in my life has gone, and only now am I realizing what I had. Isn’t that the way it goes sometimes? I can go back to being single and carefree, but I don’t want to be carefree anymore, now that I know what it means to be in love with her. So here’s a song that fits my life perfectly:
A recent article from Vice Magazine, of all magazines, laments the state of contemporary art by exclaiming “I’m sick of pretending; I don’t ‘get’ art!”
Although I know the headline is tongue in cheek, poking fun at those who are allegedly pretenders, the proclamation “I don’t ‘get’ it” is at the heart of the argument here.
So what was so inflammatory? Tracey Emin’s retrospective at the Hayward Gallery. Part of the notorious Young British Artists circle, Emin makes installations that are described as ‘Confessional Art,’ displaying emotions candidly. As well, Emin herself has cultivated a celebrity status: she is blue collar, rough around the edges, very sexual, fearless, and has been more frank about her difficult life experiences than anything you’ll read in People. She once turned up drunk to a live televised debate about art on Channel 4:
So is she any good? Well, that depends on who you ask. As one commenter says in the comment forum below the article, it is ok to put the cat among the pigeons in this discussion. Maybe Emin is a bad artist, but that doesn’t mean that all art is bad. Why don’t people just say they don’t ‘get’ Tracey Emin? Why does she (or Damien Hirst, Matthew Barney, etc) have to represent the entirety of the art world? That’s like saying “The Leafs suck – I don’t get hockey.” People get so incensed that there could be something out there that a lot of people are into, that they don’t like. Stop liking what I don’t like!
Tracey Emin's neon signs. You don't like them, I do - Is it good or bad art?
As Francis Bacon said, talking about art is like dancing about architecture. If people are wondering about the true power of art they can look at the influence of art (design, copy, music, acting etc.) in the service of business, aka advertising. It is ironic that this article comes from Vice – a magazine that started off dealing with independent arts and pop culture, and featured photographers like Richard Kern, Terry Richardson, and controversial sections like malnourished Bangladeshi children posing for a fashion shoot. However, irony is what Vice does best. It is what they sell, and the author of this article (hiding behind pseudonym Glen Coco), uses his authority as a former art lover to build his credibility before he subsequently turns to self-deprecation, and, by extension, deprecates the art world as well:
I went to art school, wrote a dissertation called “The Elevation of Art Through Commerce: An Analysis of Charles Saatchi’s Approach to the Machinery of Art Production Using Pierre Bourdieu’s Theories of Distinction”, have attended art openings at least once a month for the last five years, even fucking purchased pieces of (art)…
Vice has been accused of using irony to conceal reactionary politics and to promote conservative, racist, and sexist attitudes. In August 2003, Vice cofounder Gavin McInnes wrote a piece in The American Conservative entitled “Hip to Be Square: It’s getting cooler to be conservative”. Seems like this article is a good example of using irony to subvert the very thing that made Vice a sensation in the first place, and along with it, any liberal view of what art is or can be. Irony, by the way, is an artistic device.
But hey, there are certainly worse jobs for art school graduates than working for Vice magazine. And if you’re looking for controversial, I guess the only thing that can match Vice would be the artwork of Tracey Emin!
One of the songs I think I will play in my new cover band. What the hell, eh?
If you have not yet heard of the CBC show ‘under the influence,’ you should really check it out. An in-depth look at the advertising industry, Under the Influence lays bare the world we live in and the messages that surround us. The latest episode is on sex in advertising. The show used to be called ‘The Age of Persuasion,’ which I think is a more apt title, but perhaps a little too close to the truth for comfort?
Terry O’Reilly is the host, and his perfect annunciation and delivery is a good counterweight to what is often an opaque and inaccessible subject. The artists and psychologists that work to create the marketing around us have perhaps not realized how strong their talents actually are. Designers, directors, actors, musicians, illustrators, copywriters – how practical are they? Listen to Terry O’Reilly tell you.
I decided to add psychedelic culture to my header tag, as I realized that I’ve been posting about it anyway, nevermind the fact that my new header image comes from a hardcover scan of Timothy Leary’s The Politics of Ecstasy. If you want to see the original image, look at my post on psychedelic art.
Lately I’ve been listening to Alan Watts, who is one of the pioneers of psychedelic culture. Here’s a small sample:
I do recall his writing being better…These lectures sound a bit impromptu in their delivery, which is what people like Eckhart Tolle or Krishnamurti tend to do. Alan Watts is well known for his promotion of Buddhism and eastern thought. There are some gems in these videos: “Doesn’t it astonish you that you are a fantastically complex thing, and that you’re doing all of this and you never had any education in how to do it?”
Getting props from Rokline last year was kind of strange, as the belated review came several years after the NWD record came out. Nevertheless it’s always nice to hear people say good things about your music, and in fact it seems to hold more water for me when something stands the test of time.
Alas, Chart Magazine’s quote is probably still the most telling: “should the universe prove just, As Time Goes will be blaring from every radio station in the country.” Well that didn’t happen, and the universe isn’t always just. But who needs radio when you have Cizzy Cybourne!
And should you be interested in the album Americana UK called “a tribute to the best bar band in the world,” which I think is an apt description, you can buy it on iTunes
The Northwest Division
Baba's Lounge 2006
This is your brain on the Northwest Division
Former bandmate and Haunted Hearts frontman Dennis Ellsworth has a new album coming out – here’s the single, ‘Electric Stars.’