There are infuriating "high art" double standards that continue to bother me, as one discovers more and more variations upon the same theme.
The Theme:
J. Seward Johnson's "art" has been brutalized by the press everywhere. The reason given is not that Seward is a bad guy or even a bad artist, but that his concept of taking someone else's two-dimensional art works - in Seward's latest case the Impressionists - and making them into a three dimensional "new" work is both kitschy and reprehensible.
The Hypocrisy:
1. As I whined about it before, the British artist brothers Jake and Dinos Chapman's early work was based on the famous Goya etchings Disasters of War. Initially they used plastic figures to re-create Goya in a miniature three-dimensional form, and like Johnson (later on), one of these 83 scenes became a life-sized version using mannequins. Yet the Chapmans are darlings of the art world and were favorites in the last Tate show.
2. Whitney Biennial selectee Eve Sussman's "art" is to take Velasquez's Las Meninas and turn it into "ten minutes of a costume-drama feature film.”
3. Jane Simpson is one of Artnet.com's Artists to Watch for 2004. Her stellar reputation in the artworld has been acquired partially by her creation of sculptures based on Giorgio Morandi paintings.
Am I the only one who sees that all of these people are essentially working the same generic concept as J. Seward Johnson - but unlike Johnson, they are being lauded and praised?
What am I missing here?
Tuesday, February 24, 2004
Photoworks at Glen Echo Hosts Portfolio Critique.
Photography enthusiasts are invited to bring their portfolios to Photoworks’ beautiful new studio space to be critiqued at no fee by professional photographers on the Photoworks faculty. Over coffee and bagels, photographers with all levels of experience will have the opportunity to share their work and receive feedback and comment and participate in fun and informal discussions with both amateur and professional photographers. Portfolios can consist of either digital or traditional work in either black and white or color.
When: Sunday, March 14, 2004 - 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon
Where: Photoworks, Glen Echo Park, Glen Echo, Maryland.
Founded in the early ‘70s, Photoworks is a self-funded photography program that offers classes, workshops, lectures, exhibit space and an open darkroom. The classes are designed to teach all levels of students camera, digital and darkroom skills and processes to make fine art photographs, and emphasizes a strong summer program for young people. All Photoworks teachers are professionals working in editorial, commercial and fine art fields, and Photoworks is proud to have launched the careers of many well-known area commercial and art photographers.
