The Education of Simon Jones in the difference between art and Art (and the gaps in-between) by John Coombes.

Saturday, May 24, 2003

the new art is the art of the new
the is of the is of the is
that's where we are at the moment, a few years ago we were just is-ing the is, now we've gone tertiary. everything is art so nothing is art, we can decide what is and we can't decide. there is no rationale, there is no route, the maps have been burnt, we are up and flying without wires and without a safety net. none but the brave now get through. those fearless enough to run naked through the supermarket. those with nothing left Toulous.

Friday, May 23, 2003

Art is not just holding up a mirror to the world, art is becoming the mirror yourself and allowing your own feelings to flow into the work, subtly altering the image reflected… rather it’s not so much about being a mirror but a lens, [to continue the metaphor].

Thursday, May 22, 2003

Does an artist's expression of feeling equal art? How do you establish the position of Artist? Everyone has feelings. Is everyone an artist?

This is what the BritArt gang are proposing, or should it, as it has been in the past, be coupled with marvel. I believe magic has a great part to play in art. If art if to express emotion and some how illuminate the human condition for better or worse, showing us in a clearer light, under the torch of truth, then we need to be in a certain state to receive the message. This is the reason for Art Galleries. This is also the reason why we sing hymns in church, it makes us feel better [some do say because the controlled breathing during the act of singing starves the brain of oxygen, and the old endorphins kick in and give us a sense of peace and harmony - all the better to hear Deacon Jones' sermon and The Message Of God in general]. So too with art, putting it in a hallowed space [and it used to be churches for the most part] alters our state of being slightly, producing a different response to the artifact. Coupled with the wonder of "wow!" or "ahh!", the "how did they do that?", the shock of the "eugh!" we change our way of seeing and out experience is heightened.

As the stuckists said if it has to exist in a gallery to be art then is it art? so too can we say is it art if it isn't in a gallery? Clearly art can exist outside galleries, but it has to manifest the conditions of wonder, awe and ahh to be art outside a gallery.

eurghhhh

Wednesday, May 21, 2003

So, ask yourself one question Mr Jones: "do I have a lot of contacts in the music business?"

Tuesday, May 20, 2003

I think Bill Drummond and friends had a lot of contacts in the music industry and when they proved their point, they made the dosh. This then gave way to doing what the frig they wanted including disposing of £1m on behalf of the Royal Mint Braziers Society.

Monday, May 19, 2003

The K Foundation, Phil Caulty and Bill Drummond, previously known as the KLF or the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu. Erstwhile pop terrorists, said anyone could make a number one - and they did, several.

The story went that they were blathering in a pub about how anyone could make a number one single - it's just a formular, and someone said "go on then". So they did. Then this person says "fluke - do it again to prove it" and they did, then again just to make the guy pig sick, then to crown it all they put the whole lot together in the White Album and went platinum worldwide.

The the story goes they deleted their back catalogue ie made all their music unavailable, ie they get no more money from it; and they went up to scotland and burnt a million notes. Rumour has it that a) the bank refused to acknowledge it and put it down to natural cash wastage, and b) a japanese collector bought the suitcase containing the ash for more than a million.

Believe what you will. The K Foundation arrived soon after, with a fair amount of cash to splash about, full page adverts in the broadsheets, promoting their ideas. Their ideas? Well they had the Alternative Turner Prize, giving the Turner Prize winner Rachael Whiteread £40,000 as the Worst Artist in Britain, presenting it to her in front of the Tate after the Turner Prize show, in front of the tv cameras. [they were always good at courting the press]

Not heard much about them for a few years. Which all goes to prove, you can do what the frick you want if you've got the cash. and some times it'll be good. The K Foundation weren't Stuckists, but they weren't Charles Saatchi.