Entry tags:
Retail Therapy, Wild Arts Social Club, and Aesthetic Bullshit
A common element of the counter-culture that I share is a perplexing disdain for mainstream retail therapy, the act of conspicuous consumption, and commodity fetishism. For myself, I have much more in common with Bohemian quest in the opportunity shop, which is always an adventure in itself. I remember many decades ago now my adopted mother scowling about those who wear "dead peoples' clothes!", whereas my young pragmatic mind that this being in such garb was eminently sensible as it provided a use for such items that the dead would not have. It was, of course, a status issue and it is interesting that a person who lacked social status so desperately wanted the outward pretense of it when in reality it was not available. All of which leads to recalling a wonderful day last week spent in the company of my friend Mel S., where we journeyed around our old haunts of Fitzroy and Collingwood visiting various cafés and several opportunity shops. Mel and I met several years back when I had become power of attorney for my dearly departed friend Rick Barker. With clouds and silver linings as Rick slipped away, I developed a friendship with his immediate family from New Zealand and Mel, his former neighbour with whom we particularly share a love for 1980s alternative electronica.
The journey and the experience itself is an aesthetic one, and whatever is found is «l'objet trouvé», which amuses me greatly how after one hundred years mainstream art critics are still looking at the thing, rather than the experience in finding it. The experiential in art has taken a great new turn with the official founding of the (soon to be incorporated) Wild Arts Social Club on Friday night. With almost a score of people crammed into a one-bedroom flat, Miriam G. hosted the "just off mid-winter" event with a theme of Baba Yaga/Vasilisa the Beautiful involving readings, Slavic foods, plentiful vodka, music, and singing, notably from the very talented (and somewhat famous in VietNam) Floyd Thursby (e.g., Babylon Gate, You Gotta Fly, To Those in Flames). Miriam has been organising such community art experiences for quite some time now, it was my suggestion that an incorporated association be established for her endeavours. The actual business side of the meeting took about ten minutes, as it should, and I have found myself with the role of treasurer in the new body.
Following the aesthetic narrative, I must also mention that I submitting an article for the Polish Journal of Aesthetics, who have a special upcoming issue on "Bullshit Art", noting that "bullshit" in the academic vernacular (cf., Frankfurt) as intentional speech where the purpose is to the persuade, without any regard for the truth, or in this case, aesthetics. I am taking the opportunity to engage in a tirade of my least favourite art style, that of abstract expressionism. It is necessary to acknowledge the abstract art or expressionism are both highly valid forms of art, but when combined something quite toxic occurs, the elimination of the aesthetic motive altogether (to which Malevich's "Black Square" is a critically important inspiration) whilst engaging in the pretense of being part of the artistic community (all, at the same time, whilst being funded by the CIA).
The journey and the experience itself is an aesthetic one, and whatever is found is «l'objet trouvé», which amuses me greatly how after one hundred years mainstream art critics are still looking at the thing, rather than the experience in finding it. The experiential in art has taken a great new turn with the official founding of the (soon to be incorporated) Wild Arts Social Club on Friday night. With almost a score of people crammed into a one-bedroom flat, Miriam G. hosted the "just off mid-winter" event with a theme of Baba Yaga/Vasilisa the Beautiful involving readings, Slavic foods, plentiful vodka, music, and singing, notably from the very talented (and somewhat famous in VietNam) Floyd Thursby (e.g., Babylon Gate, You Gotta Fly, To Those in Flames). Miriam has been organising such community art experiences for quite some time now, it was my suggestion that an incorporated association be established for her endeavours. The actual business side of the meeting took about ten minutes, as it should, and I have found myself with the role of treasurer in the new body.
Following the aesthetic narrative, I must also mention that I submitting an article for the Polish Journal of Aesthetics, who have a special upcoming issue on "Bullshit Art", noting that "bullshit" in the academic vernacular (cf., Frankfurt) as intentional speech where the purpose is to the persuade, without any regard for the truth, or in this case, aesthetics. I am taking the opportunity to engage in a tirade of my least favourite art style, that of abstract expressionism. It is necessary to acknowledge the abstract art or expressionism are both highly valid forms of art, but when combined something quite toxic occurs, the elimination of the aesthetic motive altogether (to which Malevich's "Black Square" is a critically important inspiration) whilst engaging in the pretense of being part of the artistic community (all, at the same time, whilst being funded by the CIA).