…..night after night critics and collectors scarf down meals paid for by dealers promoting artists, or museums promoting shows, with everyone together at the table, schmoozing, stroking, prodding, weighing the vibes. And where is art in all of this? Proliferating but languishing….
…., artists can also take over the factory, make the art industry their own. Collectively and individually they can customize the machinery, alter the modes of distribution, adjust the rate of production to allow for organic growth, for shifts in purpose and direction. They can daydream and concentrate. They can make nothing for a while, or make something and make it wrong, and fail in peace, and start again….
Paragraphs excerpted from
The Boom Is Over. Long Live the Art! By HOLLAND COTTER
Birgit:
That’s quite an article. Holland Cotter recommends a status quo, suggests a world that largely already exists. We swim in a sea of creative energy that has little to do with the cast of characters mentioned in the article. Compare the aesthetic environment as seen in popular magazines from the thirties with those of today, and a qualitative advancement is evident. This example, as one of a multitude from which to choose, illustrates a general and progressive acceptance of aesthetic talent as necessary.
And things do keep coming around. A feature in architecture curricula back in the late sixties and early seventies was social awareness as developed through psychology and sociology coursework.. Such a cross enrichment was intended to help budding architects better understand the human dimensions of their work. I’m sure that that tradition continues.
Jay,
Thank you for your critical input. She is just incendiary for the fun of it? Not knowing the art world the way you do, I thought this was the time to clean up not only Wall Street but perhaps also other types of intrenchments?
Birgit:
Do you see her as preaching revolution? Would seem to me that the world described by Ms. Cotter is entirely a voluntary enterprise and a kind of ecology where various talents can find their niches. Galleries, intermediaries and “players” come and go. If I wish, I could rent a storefront and become one of those gallerists, thriving or foundering as my business ability and circumstances allow. It’s hard for me to see entrenchment when most everyone has but a toe hold.
I don’t think Cotter is preaching revolution, but I think he’s proposing this could be a time of more rapid change (punctuated evolution). I suspect he’s right, but,as usual, it may not be clear for years. In fact, I think we’ll see more rapid social changes in general. Jed Perl had an interesting article on the same topic, though he professes to be less concerned with “art world” questions, and thinks that real art by real artists will continue as always.
It’s interesting that both, like other commentators, pick on Peyton as symbolic of the supposed current decadence. Though I would agree with their assessment, it clearly indicates New York provincialism and the distortions the art market has worked there. Not only are there better artists in NYC, there are better artists in most of the country, and a little more sense to the art scene.
Steve:
Amen.
Steve,
Thank you for the link. Very thoughtful article and comments.
The inquiring mind at The Artful Manager relates this to the notion of adaptive cycles and resilient systems, which is very nicely captured in a podcast he mentions in a later post. I think the general notion of such a cycle can also usefully be applied to stages in the development of an individual artist.
By the way,Birgit, your photo makes me think of a Flemish interior, somehow.
Steve:
Paste a little camera on the upraised hand of the bridegroom in the Arnolfini portrait.
Steve,
One of your links talks about Tradition versus Innovation. Probably all of us think about what is worth preserving as tradition and what is lost during innovation.
Flemish interior – also a little of Hans Memling?
Birgit:
In regard to that, I would suggest not reading Archeology Magazine. It is full of a sense of loss.