Uppity faux British accented voice bellows: What is Art?
Totally unpretentious & proud peruser of Singlish replies: Art ah? Super rich boliao people, whole day go gallery swirl wine glass, sip Champagne, rub shoulders with sons-of-who’s-daughter-of-which-wife-of-some-CEO. Or British uppity women with BIG hats at art auctions holding that lollipop thingy.
You get the point.
The established public image of Art is that it’s exclusive to a meagre 8.3m ÷ 6.77b = 0.13% worth of delusional high net-worth individuals. It is therefore hardly misplaced to think that there exists, amongst the remaining 99.87% of us ≤ middle-class disillusioned folks, people who have actually come to hate what Art allegedly represents.
So if, as a member of this disgruntled pack, you relate to The British Art Resistance (BAR), pray lend them your heartfelt support in spreading propaganda against the common enemy during:
13th – 20th JULY 2009
… a call for direct action against the mass acceptance of art as a false economy for the smug manipulative elite and their ensuing grip of control over culture as a tool for mediated emotion, market lead non-critical homogeny, and boring popularism.
During NATIONAL ART HATE WEEK citizens are encouraged to visit art institutions across the land and HATE. Individuals who are unable to attend an organised ART HATE are encouraged to open a random book on any given artist and HATE what they see.
… the symbol of the swastika hung from a gallows as an emblem of resistance against cultural fascism as disseminated by the bureaucrats of art.
ALL ART IS TAINTED
Those last few precious dollars that are stress-testing that hole in your pocket? Why not spend them on NAHW collector’s editions to fund the production and distribution of propaganda?
* On the 21st July 2009 an exquisite presentation set of all the propaganda and supporting materials will be donated to the Tate Collection so that the nation might remember those who stood up and said no.
NAHW Online Shopping Catalogue
* FREE Hate at Tate members’ card with all purchases
My thoughts? I’m a believer of the adage Bad Publicity is Better Than No Publicity. Sure, there are evident contradictions in the BAR’s manifesto and to most art lovers, the underlying comic noir tone can easily be misinterpreted as sacrilegious to the sanctity of art.
The irony is, we usually become what we hate, love what we hate. Maybe it’s a self-defense mechanism. Maybe its the narcissistic recognition of our Id.
In the end, this anti-art campaign might just be the PR & Marketing boost all ministries of culture need, to iron out whatever misconceptions and misgivings we might have about Art.
Besides, this very bold act in itself is Art, actually.
thangdynasty is a work-in-progress maintained by an accidental equity trader whose brief foray into the world of investments turned out… not so brief.
Although unmotivated by the senseless pursuit of money in and for itself, she remains sadistically intrigued by the complex anatomy stealthily at work behind the whole spectrum of Markets – Fine Art, Financial, Fish and Fools.
A budding art collector and supporter of emerging artists, she slogs to prevent collateral damage to her bank account resulting from occasional manic art buying sprees.