some cranky thoughts on art
Since I work as an art correspondent for a website, I’m subscribed to newsletters of many arts organizations. One thing I’ve been noticing recently is how often the word “fun” comes up in the invitations to their events. That leaves me kind of perplexed. Fun? Seriously? Give me a break. As if I don’t already have the whole entertainment industry and product advertisers of all kinds wanting to seduce me. The least thing I want is more people chasing after me with their promises of fun.
Why do PR people of art organizations imitate those corporate tactics? Do they seriously hope that a person in search of fun will choose their debate on Conceptual art or avant-garde dance performance over a Hollywood movie or a party? When people want fun, they don’t go to see art. Period. Even those who are not art geeks in any way go to museums or galleries expecting to find there something other than entertainment. They go there to broaden their cultural or intellectual horizons, get to know more about history, find transcendence, provocation, or just plain beauty. In other words, an encounter with art is generally perceived (by the right and the left alike) to be something deeper and more meaningful than entertainment. And art should take advantage of this fact, instead of trying to compete with corporations over who can provide the most fun.
Probably the word “fun” is used in newsletters just to appease the corporate sponsors, as if: look, we’re doing something to attract new audiences. Hmmm, that is kind of absurd. If there are indeed such art noobs who will go to an exhibit in hope to find divertissement, they will leave confused. I know because I once was such a noob myself. Some years ago, when I was still blissfully ignorant regarding all things contemporary art, I was invited to an opening, with an assurance that it will be “a lot of fun.” Naturally, I left the event weirded out, not because of the crowd or ambience (they were all right), but because I just did not know how to mentally approach the work that I saw. Maybe a better strategy to lure new audiences would be to stress the importance (or, if the institution is bold enough, the indispensability) of the stuff on view.
Most of all, in my communication with an arts institution I want to be treated like an equal. An artist is not a service provider, and an arts organization shouldn’t aspire to be one, either. As I said before, contemporary capitalism views us as creatures that constantly need to be seduced, served, and pampered, and are always in pursuit of fun; art should be a counterpoint to that. I don’t want it to look at me with misty eyes from below, begging for attention and promising pleasures. We are needy rich children surrounded by servants in our leisure time, while being screwed by “job creators” at work. This situation is totally schizophrenic, and it’s in a desperate need of being acknowledged and articulated.
Posted by Julia Glosemeyer
The some cranky thoughts on art by Magnificent Creatures | The Every Thursday Free Online Comic, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
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