On Political

What is Right and Normal?

Brain Vomit.

Lately, having been exposed to a few art critics, theorists, activists and discussions. It seems that the hegemonic attitude within the A/art world is an anti-capitalist one. I've seen more of Marxism - a note here: I certainly don't  tar all left-leaning/socialists with the Marxist brush - lately than I thought I might on an art course, and thought a fair bit more about political theory.

The problem is: I would, reasonably, call myself a capitalist. A liberal one, yes, but financially 'right'.

And I like having stuff.

I never considered myself a particularly peer-pressurisable person, but I'm starting to feel the heat a little.

John Berger (since he recently came back to me) is a man I respect academically,

As is Chantal Mouffe -  even if I disagree with her

As are the people I study with

But I find myself unable to whole-heartedly commit to the anti-capitalist, "we're heading to a corporate wasteland" business. 

-> Corporatism is bad, but so is anything taken to an extreme

And that's it.

I presume that the suggested alternative is socialism since, to make a massively broad stroke, most other systems are fairly unpopular/unknown

But it seems to me that if (rhetorically) we're going to straw man capitalism as extreme, we might as well do the same for socialism, ie. consider it communism. Realistically, which system has the better track record? (And while I doubt anyone alive would support the mostrosity of, say the Soviet Union, North Korea, China and it's One Hundred Flowers, it is hard to take someone saying "I'm a Marxist" out of the context of communism)

 There is a problem with our world - Our System - but I don't think the answer is as simple as "Let's try a new one!"

Anything can be corrupted and abused - That is what we need to deal with

Apple are good for giving us iPods, terrible for what they do to people. That isn't about capitalism or socialism

How many protests have been organised over Facebook? With Smartphones?

We're too used to having Stuff, we forget how we got it

In short: Many people in my 'sphere' are anti-capitalist, I'm not. Boo hoo ):

An Evolving Post (Hopefully)

On On Beauty

1=1

On "On Beauty", Elaine Scarry, 1999

Began reading yesterday. A second reading will be necessary but for now-

Finished section 1 - Beauty, and Being Wrong

To summarise

-> Beauty is worthwhile (?) because it intrigues us, often we misinterpret something's 'beauty' value - in a very broad sense - through either under- or overattribution. When we realise our mistake we examine more closely to find the truth.

-> Also because of replication, in short, 'beauty inspires'

Beauty, and Being Fair
Scarry talks about a divide between beauty and the sublime (divided up by Kant), though it seems to me an arbitary divide - perhaps there is simply more to be understood?
Also, she claims that thre is a connection between beauty and aliveness
And beauty and vulnerability - for the beholder. That this wasn't the case was news to me...

Kant thought that experience of the sublime depended on the viewer rather than the object itself
-> "A virtuous person fears God without being afraid of Him"?
Is fear at the root of beauty? There may be a case for that, too

Want, Christopher and Klimowski, Andrzej, 1996, Kant For Beginners, Icon Books Ltd. Cambridge
Scarry, Elaine, 2000, On Beauty and Being Just, Gerald Duckworth & Co. Ltd., London

Yellowism?

Tailoring The Foot to Fit the Shoe?

So, "Yellowism"

First off, I don't know enough about this to be any kidn of authority. Probably playing to them.

Maybe admitting it mitigates that?

Maybe there was a part of me that thought I had to support these guys because they seem edgy and 'anti-establishment'

From what I can discern their principle can be distilled down to "____ doesn't have to be art, it can be Yellowism"

-> Yellowism = Art percieved in a new way, sans their concepts

-> Yellowism = Art objects (in this context)

(I know there's a strand about changing the way we percieve work based on it's context, but is that really anything new? It's more or less the basis of curating.)

Calling it now:

It's just a new kind of shock art - something creative is either art or anti-art

->Coming up with a random, 'quirky' idea then changing the world to make it seem philosophical

->Lets ruin some art for art's sake (and call it's non-art Yellowism)

I'm up for protesting against institutions, and sometimes that takes 'radical' measures, but that Rothko was defaced for a farce - either Yellowism is a joke, or it's a poor attempt at philosophy.

Smooth, guy.
He kind of contradicts himself on the "not art" bit, anyway.

Personality/Project/Research

Drawing¦There is No Line in Nature

Draw to delineate, express or depict? At most one can only draw a "picture of" the world, never truly this or that.

Drawing is the basis of all art, it is often stated, and I find myself in agreement.

-> Perhaps time for the inner nature, where lines do exsist?

Some looking may just be needed into the origin of our line-makings [is this alll drawing?]

and some line making may be necessary to understand what is not.

-> If there is some second nature to things - a phenomenological one - that cannot be photographed then we must draw it as we understand it but;

Are there lines in that Second Nature?

In relation, it may come out that by drawing a better understanding of oneself and ones true veiw of the world is reached. It might just serve as skill improvement, with nothing so grand as Art falling cleanly out of the movements of our ancients.

But we have always been drawing, so I will endeavour too - really draw, everything, like I haven't in a while.

Perhaps I shall happen to scribble on a wall and understand why I started. 

On Political?

frieze: Shouts and Murmurs

"How can change be manifested if it can’t first be imagined?"

"Who to make it for?" and "What's worth making?"

-> There is a nice antidote for that, I think. Some times radical expression can maybe be just expression?

 I don't want to make political art for the sake of being political, I don't want to make Art just to be Arty. 

-> Perhaps it's time to make a drawing. We can make sense of It by touching it. We can touch it with that Heart Hook? 

-> Put a line here or there, or draw this and that until

Thank you miss Higgie. But also thank you Ms. Mouffe, because when one reads and understands, one cannot forget.

-> The art/issues/politics never leaves us, I hope. But neither should beauty or writing or expression,

once we know how/a way to express  



 Mouffe, Chantal (2007) Artistic Activism and Agnostic Spaces, Art & Research: A Journal of Ideas, Contexts and Methods, Vol. 1, No. 2, Summer 2007 [online] Available at: http://www.artandresearch.org.uk/v1n2/mouffe.html