Ray Aldridge on mon 18 sep 00
Here's an excerpt from an essay by Herbert Reichert. It appeared in=20
reviewny.com It's ostensibly a review of Danto's latest collection of=20
essays and is not terribly kind. But there's an interesting perspective=20
here on Picasso and fossilized art appreciation.
"When Marcel Duchamp (the painter) recognized the power and scope of=20
Picasso's invention (by 1907, Cezanne, Picasso and Matisse had pretty much=
=20
reinvented the vocabulary of painting), he said to himself =AD I am out of=
=20
here. Duchamp realized that when the art of Picasso was exhibited, it left=
=20
very little
room in the gallery for less thoroughly considered viewpoints. Duchamp then
noticed that Picasso could just plain "skin-those-cats" a whole lot better=
=20
than he could.
In fact, he speculated that Pablo might quite possibly be the=20
god-damned best cat-skinner of all fucking time. Duchamp therefore decided=
=20
that right then must have been the perfect moment to just forget about cat=
=20
skinning altogether. Avoid it completely. He thought, what with Picasso=20
skinning all them cats, and with such finesse, the time might just be right=
=20
to start training dogs to sing! And so that is what he did.
Now it's the year 2000. The century of "Modern" is over. It ended on a=
=20
confused note in a minor key. According to Danto, the history of art is=20
over. But it looks to me like art history is still sort of keeping on. I=20
haven't noticed a shortage of art or art history. The only trouble is we=20
are all a bit clueless about what to say or do about all those skinned cats=
=20
laying around the museums. And we are all having a hard time thinking and=20
speaking over the racket from all those curatorial, journalistic and=20
academic Karioke dogs!
By the 1960s, art scholars and school-marmey philosophers had stolen=20
the entire business of art illumination right out from under the poets and=
=20
metaphysicians who had commandeered it during the early battles of the=20
avant-garde revolution. By the time Clement Greenberg had stopped writing,=
=20
art and artmaking were defined solely and completely by the dogma and=20
orthodoxy proffered by tenured art-school professors. Ornery teachers were=
=20
giving written
examinations to the children of the Big-War's soldiers =AD and grading them=
=20
on the correctness of their opinions about art, history, culture, beauty=20
and meaning!"
And so on. Make of it what you will, and read the entire essay at=20
http://www.reviewny.com
The point to keep in mind here is that no one in Chelsea really gives a=20
damn what Reichert thinks about Arthur Danto, but they care quite a lot=20
about what Danto thinks. In other words, Reichert's a guy writing for an=20
obscure ezine and Danto is a power in the post-modern art world. Still, in=
=20
my opinion, Reichert is right and Danto is the critical equivalent of your=
=20
appendix. To me, one of the most annoying logical fallacies (and there's=20
quite a list, most which make regular appearances on ClayArt) is the one=20
often called "appeal to authority." In other words, Einstein can be wrong,=
=20
and so can a billion Chinese. Or a billion art critics.
I've been often frustrated in my attempts to discuss these matters,and I=20
know others found it just as frustrating. So in order to prevent further=20
pointless frustration for all concerned, I'm going to do my best to avoid=20
these discussions in the future. Should I get on one of these hobby horses=
=20
and start flailing away about Art, please remind me of this resolution, and=
=20
I'll be grateful and silent.
Ray
http://goodpots.com/
Diane Mead on mon 18 sep 00
One of my good friends is one of the best potters on earth. After one of
these artsy blurb sessions that went on and on this came out to a big group
of yackers:
"STOP talking about it and just GO make some art!"
So we did.
Once in a while rumination is fun. Beating dead hobby horses is something we
all do sometimes. But right now, I'm gonna shut my big fat mouth and go make
some art.
And I don't even mind if Pablo skinned all the cats for all time. I can
accept it and go on anyway! It would be very anti-Zen of me to do anything
else!
diane in ga.
>I've been often frustrated in my attempts to discuss these matters,and I
>know others found it just as frustrating. So in order to prevent further
>pointless frustration for all concerned, I'm going to do my best to avoid
>these discussions in the future. Should I get on one of these hobby horses
>and start flailing away about Art, please remind me of this resolution, and
>I'll be grateful and silent.
>
>Ray
>http://goodpots.com/
>
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