i would like to thank eric siegel for the very intelligent response to the
post on the whitney biennale. i have some comments on his comments (hope
that is permitted here.)
siegel wrote:
>My experience is that as soon as
> anyone compares anything to the Nazis, all useful exchange stops, but if
one
> wants to provoke, evoking Hitler is a cheap and reliable way to do it.
> Takes no skill, however, and it disappoints and depresses me, which I'm
sure
> was a major concern of the artist and the Whitney.
very, very true. it is a tactic overused. unfortunately too many dont
understand or dont want to understand the basic concepts behind that fact.
it is im my view... an easy out.
> The inclusion of this piece in the Biennale strikes me as cynical,
> manipulative, dreary, and a complete abdication of curatorial or
historical
> judgement.
this is also true. it strikes me as loss. why is there a loss? a void? sure
there are problems with what is being done today. there is a lot being
promoted but one problem i see is that there is so much work being made that
is basically just 'group work.' same style. same genres... not really
pushing ahead. too many artists are stuck in a time; then there are those
who are just following the crowd.
some work out there is truly interesting because it is heading in the right
direction to me. for example although my gallery has a strong showing of
german artists i am personally very interested in an abstraction that deals
with physical terms (frank stella has been exploring this to an extent)
instead of abstraction for abstractions sake (yes, we have all been
there...done that.) not many are working in that direction. carole guthrie
is with her textural painting addressing a non-painting physicality, or
herbert hamak's work of mass and color form - this is truly modern and very
contemporary. relating the abstract aspect of painting to physical
properties beyond art, beyond the emotional. good work IS out there. the
biennale this year should include some.
> On the other hand, I was kinda anti-Ofilli until I saw a bunch of his work
> at the Carnegie international exhibition. They were beautiful,
decorative,
> and playful (which was true of much of that wonderful exhibition).
i agree with this also. i thought upon first reports i would find ofilli
offensive but i decided not to let press or PR get into the way of his art.
press can be very manipulative and can have that power. yes, they were
beautiful, decorative and playful. but then again i'm very pro-damien hirst
and find his work beautiful, decorative and playful. so what does this tell
us? see the show as a whole? then decide. we know this show is supposed to
be about new work. not all is going to be great. anyone else have views on
this?
thanks again eric. great thoughtful post.
james linza
managing director
thegentry.com project for contemporary art
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