Lili Krakowski on thu 24 apr 08
There are, I think, two questions here.
What is art? Is Installation Art art at all (Remember Mel's account of the
young woman exposing herself on the streets of London
in order to get her degree from some London art school). Does morality
enter "art"? Assume now that a drama school demanded a student become a
streetwalker in order to get a degree...Do morals, ethics enter the "art
world" at all. (Some Renaissance Italian painter crucified an assistant to
get the actual look of misery he wanted for Jesus' face. A court let him
off...)
As I think morality and ethics almost synonymous with what I would call
"art"...
The second question is: How does what that man did to that dog relate to how
we, as carnivores, behave towards other animals?
For one: when we hunt, trap, slaughter we try for the quickest, easiest
death for the animal, and we use its meat and skin for good purposes. If we
kill nuisance animals or vermin we still try to make that death easy and
painless.
Feral dogs are good hunters and scavengers. I would not be surprised if
that poor dog, before he was caught and put on exhibit, scoured the streets
of Managua for food at night, or that people threw him scraps. So it brings
up the question of the price of liberty. Is a feral dog starving on his own
better off, less well off than same dog tied up in a gallery and
PURPOSEFULLY starved?
Are sins of omission (not feeding feral dog) worse, less bad, than sins of
commission (exhibiting same dog, not feeding him)?
I have no doubt that ignoring the animal is less odious than catching and
starving him. Although some on the list have spoken of taking in strays and
healing their wounds, and giving them homes, most of us call the SPCA and
let it go. But at least we do NOT deliberately and for our own
aggrandizement catch and starve them.
Last Summer we did great battle with raccoons that got into our house.
Alas, over the winter, the same little felons demolished my kitchen and
pantry. The least of their vandalism was using my refrigerator as a toilet!
The kitchen is 12' x 16'. It took 4 hours of hard work just to clean it!
But as I worked I asked myself: "Is this Installation Art? If someone moved
this entire kitchen into a gallery and charged for people to look at it,
would it be Art?"
(The only comic aspect of this mess was that the raccoons also broke several
of my pots--and I smiled, nay, smirked at their chards because, by gum and
golly, that woman throws well!)
Lili Krakowski
Be of good courage
Hank Murrow on thu 24 apr 08
On Apr 24, 2008, at 4:51 PM, Lili Krakowski wrote:
> There are, I think, two questions here.
>
> What is art? Is Installation Art art at all?
Dear Lili;
I am reminded of what my colleague and fine wood sculptor Paul
Buckner said, "Installation is Theater, without Drama!"
Cheers, Hank
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