on the current exhibition at Bodybuilder and Sportsman
~ ~ ~
Recently on Art or Idiocy?
- • San Antonio Travelogue
• Mohammed, My Friend Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
• Saatchi Gallery shut down
(with some new perspective in the comments)
~ ~ ~
Monday, February 27, 2006
“I first included Diana Guerrero-Maciá's diminutive, sewn fabric collages in a survey exhibit in 1996 and then forgot about her for a while.”
- Paul Klein, Artletter
on the current exhibition at Bodybuilder and Sportsman
Recently on Art or Idiocy?
on the current exhibition at Bodybuilder and Sportsman
Recently on Art or Idiocy?
• Mohammed, My Friend Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
• Saatchi Gallery shut down
(with some new perspective in the comments)
Art or Idiocy School
Art School Confidential
Art or Idiocy? staff reporter E. Wenzel reporting
Via a blog, there is a link to another blog. Wait, hang in there. That links to a preview for Art School Confidential. On the Cusp, a blog from Indianapolis, reported it last Tuesday.
You can see the preview here.
This movie has seemingly been in the works for ages. I first heard of it when I myself wasin art school back a few years ago. In case you don’t know, Art School Confidentialit is the product of Dan Clowes and Terry Zwigoff. Clowes being an alternative com(x/cs) artist (that is a mouthful) who brought us Ghost World, as well as Like A Velvet Glove Cast in Iron. (A graphic novel which seems to be destined for David Lynch to adapt.) Clowes is part of the comic art royalty that Chris Ware belongs to, both coming out of Chicago around the same time. But Clowes is much better at crafting engagning stories and doesn’t make you follow along through needlessly complex diagrams. Is there self loathing? Sure, but Clowes is able to do a critical thing that will forever hold Ware back: He can create characters that aren’t thinly vailed self portraits of hatred and pity. Maybe it is just that legions of kids don't go around professing zealot-like devotion to Clowes' godhood that makes me like his work more.
Clowes and Zwigoff teamed up for Ghost World. This makes sense, as Zwigoff made it big with the documentary on the father of alternative comics, Robert Crumb. Ghost World earned an Academy nomination for best adaptation, but lost out to A Beautiful Mind because the Academy can only remember one thing at a time. And they are all a bunch of useless smelly twats anyway.
From Art School Confidential by Daniel Clowes
Art School Confidential is based on a four page story Clowes did of the same name in his sporadically published Eightball comic. So, it is only loosely based on the story. Also, since some of the gags were used in Ghost World. Clowes himself went to art school, Pratt. In the original comic we see a down and out graduate flipping burgers with a Pratt degree displayed behind him.
This should be interesting and at least entertaining. Especially with John Malkovich as a lead. The bit where the kid (whose gone to school to be the "Greatest Artist of the 20th Century") asks Malkovich “so how long have you been painting triangles?” is so spot on. (Why is it that triangles are the perfect symbol of abstract art?) “I was one of the first,” he replies, in his trademark voice.
Based on the preview it shows promise, but also most likely has the pitfalls of ignorant generalizations of art. Then again, art students almost exclusively focus on ignorant generalizations of art. And how can anyone who’s gone to art school not see this movie?
From Art School Confidential by Daniel Clowes
At first I was a little upset, like art school was my place. It's not like another college football movie, this is serious! I guess I am not so bothered by a Hollywood pic about this subject anymore. I am more secure as an artist and in myself. Imagine, though, all the students in art school now, or all the teenagers in high school who will see it. I wonder if it will be better or worse than seeing Basquiat before “deciding to be artist.”
But that is the whole thing, right, who “decides” to be an artist? Not to sound so romantic, but art is not a decision, it is a necessity. And if you have decided to be an artist, it probably won’t work out. You’ll probably slouch through school worrying more about how you look than fussing over ideas. And when you are done you will be really bitter. And you'll spend a number of years honing a religious-like devotion to disavowing art school. Never once considering that you could have called it quits, that you could have dropped out. Or that it was inane to assume it will all be handed to you. And that if only the teachers and the institution were better, you’d be a successful artist by now. (That was all an open letter to art students, past present and future).
I personally liked art school a lot. It was everything I wanted: a place and time to devote to the study and practice of what I am wholly interested in. And an environment to meet others like me, to build relationships and connections. And network, oh how we networked. The only draw backs were the kids who dressed like artists, made bad, vaguely Abstract Expressionist paintings, and talked in irony. The beautiful irony being, of course, that Ab Ex is so “lame” and so “out” in the artworld in-crowd of Artforum. And that any ironic hipster should know that, since sincerity is “finished," Ab Ex has no place.
What untold secrets will Art School Confidential reveal? Will it set of an art school craze? Bigger than the one now? Well, there’s always grad school.
Dan Clowes' hand made pocket-size copy of the script as posted on the Fantagraphics Blog.
L I N K S
• The official ASC website, including hilaiously accurate student work
• Fantagraphics Blog
if you scroll down has some productioni stills. And apparently there once was a great pin up artist named Wenzel...
• Interview with Clowes about Art School Confidential
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
San Antonio Travelogue
Erik Wenzel talks about his time on the range
I was recently down in Texas for the inauguration of Unit B (Gallery)with it's exhibition Notes to Self. Unit B started out in 2002 in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood and in late 2004 artist and Director Kimberly Aubuchon packed up and headed down to San Antonio. An odd choice it might seem. But San Antonio has a lot going on, and Chicago has a lot of connections with Texas. Several groups of artists and “art people” move back and forth between the two locales, and there is a lot of cross-pollination.
I was more than happy to be involved with Unit B opening its doors down in Texas. The result was a show of work by myself and Chris Uphues, and an installation piece by Ritchie Budd. The show looked great, and was well received. Leading up to the opening the San Antonio Current published a teaser, referring to Unit B’s arrival as “much anticipated.” The new Unit B is in half of a duplex. The main gallery is a large front room, this housed a frieze of Uphues’ renowned paintchips. The next gallery is in kitchen, an empty room with a counter on one wall. Here I installed my drunken drawings on coasters and napkins. In the defunct bathroom was Ritchie Budd’s installation. It was full of various detritus and was very multi media. A closed circuit camera spied on viewers and a monitor displayed them. There was also a feed to the restroom in the other duplex. So while you took a break you could watch what was going on from various vantage points. In addition to this, a smoke machine spewed fog juice, bubbles flowed like snow and musician Zach Dunlap played guitar in the shower stall.
San Antonio has a good cross section of art people, artists of various stages of notoriety and age, curators, collectors, writers and students. There are fair number of art schools too, UTSA (University of Texas San Antonio), Palo Alto and SAC (San Antonio College).
What I found in San Antonio was a great atmosphere. Dave Hickey may have derided the idea of art and community in his recent lecture at the Art Institute. But the group of artists, curators and writers in San Antonio is close-knit and quite wonderful.
but still i'd leap in front of a flyin' bullet for you, 2005, installation view
International Artist-In-Residence • "New Works 05.1" at Artpace
There are a number of gallery spaces, as well as institutions. The two main ones being Blue Star and Artpace San Antonio. Blue Star is akin to ARC or Contemporary Arts Workshop in Chicago, except on a much larger and impressive scale. Blue Star is a massive art complex and even sports a brewery and restaurant. I was there for a Thursday night opening. There was a wide mixture of art-goers and it felt like home.
Artpace features residencies for three artists at a time. One from Texas, one national artist, and one international artist. The residencies culminate in an exhibition. Resident artists are selected by a guest curator. The first was Robert Storr. Others have included Dan Cameron, Daniel Birnbaum, Douglas Fogel, Laura Hoptman, Susanne Ghez and Okwui Enwezor to name a few.
Vespers Pool, 1999, installation view, niches in wall with found objects and diary excerpts
International Artist-In-Residence • "New Works 99.1" at Artpace
There are galleries of every sort. Down the street from Unit B is Sala Diaz. A space which has grown in notoriety and shows quality work. It has been written up in Art in America and Artforum, along with countless other publications. (Of course that doesn’t matter, right?) Just like Unit B is half of a duplex, so is Sala Diaz. The front space is a two-room gallery the other half is occupied by artist Chuck Ramirez. Ramirez is a photographer whose work extends into conceptual approaches to image-making.
In relation to Chicago, a few years ago, Monique Meloche had a show of his work. In the old, larger space, Chuck installed several large, super saturated photos of post party bliss. They effectively acted as gory gorgeous still lifes as well as photographic Ab Ex Pollock-type works.
Just a few doors down from Chuck lives John Mata, another artist, who co-directs Unit B with Kimberly. One of the laid back nights of revelry I ended viewing some of Mata’s videos. One was a piece he made with Chuck of two cell phones getting suggestive. The soundtrack was composed from samples of the ring tones the phones emitted. Another video featured loops of Anime explosions and a mind-numbing electronic pulse. Words appeared in gothic script and were calmly read aloud. “I Do Believe...” I was mesmerized. Most video work does not capture my attention, does not “succeed” as a piece of art. But these really did it well.
Installation view of work by Chris Uphues at Unit B
Chuck has been working on large-scale photos of women’s, primarily, purses. Aerial views of the bags opened up. The vaginal reference is obvious. They are portraits of their owners. And rather than just call the piece by the woman’s name, Ramirez has divorced the pieces from that association. I watched them from the screen of his Mac, as he worked on titling them. He smoked a cigarette in the tasty morning air. The mood in San Antonio was peaceful and laid back. Probably because I was taking time off of work to play at being a full time artist, and probably because it is so much nicer than Chicago this time of year. It just felt good.
Sex on the Flag • 2005/6 • colored pencil and pen on coaster
One of Those Ones • 2004 • felt tip pen on coaster
It was so nice to get out of town, to lay back and take it easy. Chicago can be really stifling. Being in San Antonio also put some things in perspective. New York seemed even more irrelevant. So common, so typical. I’ve been having a hunch that the rest of America is at least, if not more, interesting in terms of art and vitality than New York. Between seeing who’s had ads in Artforum and what incestuous stuff is going on in Chicago, a lot is over looked. San Antonio showed me a place for art that I hadn’t really considered much.
L I N K S
• Unit B (Gallery)
• Blue Star
• Sala Diaz
• Artpace
I was recently down in Texas for the inauguration of Unit B (Gallery)with it's exhibition Notes to Self. Unit B started out in 2002 in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood and in late 2004 artist and Director Kimberly Aubuchon packed up and headed down to San Antonio. An odd choice it might seem. But San Antonio has a lot going on, and Chicago has a lot of connections with Texas. Several groups of artists and “art people” move back and forth between the two locales, and there is a lot of cross-pollination.
Superstar gallerist Kimberly Aubuchon affixes read dots to scores of newly acquired artworks at the Unit B opening
I was more than happy to be involved with Unit B opening its doors down in Texas. The result was a show of work by myself and Chris Uphues, and an installation piece by Ritchie Budd. The show looked great, and was well received. Leading up to the opening the San Antonio Current published a teaser, referring to Unit B’s arrival as “much anticipated.” The new Unit B is in half of a duplex. The main gallery is a large front room, this housed a frieze of Uphues’ renowned paintchips. The next gallery is in kitchen, an empty room with a counter on one wall. Here I installed my drunken drawings on coasters and napkins. In the defunct bathroom was Ritchie Budd’s installation. It was full of various detritus and was very multi media. A closed circuit camera spied on viewers and a monitor displayed them. There was also a feed to the restroom in the other duplex. So while you took a break you could watch what was going on from various vantage points. In addition to this, a smoke machine spewed fog juice, bubbles flowed like snow and musician Zach Dunlap played guitar in the shower stall.
Kids play in Ritchie Budd's installation at Unit B's opening nite
San Antonio has a good cross section of art people, artists of various stages of notoriety and age, curators, collectors, writers and students. There are fair number of art schools too, UTSA (University of Texas San Antonio), Palo Alto and SAC (San Antonio College).
What I found in San Antonio was a great atmosphere. Dave Hickey may have derided the idea of art and community in his recent lecture at the Art Institute. But the group of artists, curators and writers in San Antonio is close-knit and quite wonderful.
but still i'd leap in front of a flyin' bullet for you, 2005, installation view
International Artist-In-Residence • "New Works 05.1" at Artpace
There are a number of gallery spaces, as well as institutions. The two main ones being Blue Star and Artpace San Antonio. Blue Star is akin to ARC or Contemporary Arts Workshop in Chicago, except on a much larger and impressive scale. Blue Star is a massive art complex and even sports a brewery and restaurant. I was there for a Thursday night opening. There was a wide mixture of art-goers and it felt like home.
Artpace features residencies for three artists at a time. One from Texas, one national artist, and one international artist. The residencies culminate in an exhibition. Resident artists are selected by a guest curator. The first was Robert Storr. Others have included Dan Cameron, Daniel Birnbaum, Douglas Fogel, Laura Hoptman, Susanne Ghez and Okwui Enwezor to name a few.
Vespers Pool, 1999, installation view, niches in wall with found objects and diary excerpts
International Artist-In-Residence • "New Works 99.1" at Artpace
There are galleries of every sort. Down the street from Unit B is Sala Diaz. A space which has grown in notoriety and shows quality work. It has been written up in Art in America and Artforum, along with countless other publications. (Of course that doesn’t matter, right?) Just like Unit B is half of a duplex, so is Sala Diaz. The front space is a two-room gallery the other half is occupied by artist Chuck Ramirez. Ramirez is a photographer whose work extends into conceptual approaches to image-making.
In relation to Chicago, a few years ago, Monique Meloche had a show of his work. In the old, larger space, Chuck installed several large, super saturated photos of post party bliss. They effectively acted as gory gorgeous still lifes as well as photographic Ab Ex Pollock-type works.
Chuck Ramirez • Dia de los Muertos • 2003
digital durst print • 48 x 60 inches
Just a few doors down from Chuck lives John Mata, another artist, who co-directs Unit B with Kimberly. One of the laid back nights of revelry I ended viewing some of Mata’s videos. One was a piece he made with Chuck of two cell phones getting suggestive. The soundtrack was composed from samples of the ring tones the phones emitted. Another video featured loops of Anime explosions and a mind-numbing electronic pulse. Words appeared in gothic script and were calmly read aloud. “I Do Believe...” I was mesmerized. Most video work does not capture my attention, does not “succeed” as a piece of art. But these really did it well.
Installation view of work by Chris Uphues at Unit B
Chuck has been working on large-scale photos of women’s, primarily, purses. Aerial views of the bags opened up. The vaginal reference is obvious. They are portraits of their owners. And rather than just call the piece by the woman’s name, Ramirez has divorced the pieces from that association. I watched them from the screen of his Mac, as he worked on titling them. He smoked a cigarette in the tasty morning air. The mood in San Antonio was peaceful and laid back. Probably because I was taking time off of work to play at being a full time artist, and probably because it is so much nicer than Chicago this time of year. It just felt good.
Sex on the Flag • 2005/6 • colored pencil and pen on coaster
One of Those Ones • 2004 • felt tip pen on coaster
It was so nice to get out of town, to lay back and take it easy. Chicago can be really stifling. Being in San Antonio also put some things in perspective. New York seemed even more irrelevant. So common, so typical. I’ve been having a hunch that the rest of America is at least, if not more, interesting in terms of art and vitality than New York. Between seeing who’s had ads in Artforum and what incestuous stuff is going on in Chicago, a lot is over looked. San Antonio showed me a place for art that I hadn’t really considered much.
L I N K S
• Unit B (Gallery)
• Blue Star
• Sala Diaz
• Artpace
Friday, February 17, 2006
Fair Words Can Buy A Horse on Credit
Rendition of Butler Field from Art Chicago's website
Nova News
The only fair making any progress and letting the Chicago art press know about it is Bridge's Nova Art Fair. Today they sent an email outlining a current list of confirmed galleries and publications (a full list is scheduled for March 15th):
- Nova 2006 Exhibitors
65 Grand (Chicago IL)
Adobe Books Backroom Gallery (San Francisco CA)
AI Gallery (Chicago IL)
Billy Shire Gallery (Los Angeles CA)
Bucket Rider Gallery (Chicago IL)
Cynthia Corbett Projects (London UK)
Dorsch Gallery (Miami FL)
gescheidle Gallery (Chicago IL)
Jet Artworks (Washington, D.C.)
Livebox Gallery (Chicago IL)
Outlaw A (Chicago IL)
Pierogi2000 (New York NY)
Vane Gallery (Newcastle UK)
Wright Gallery (Northport MI)
Nova:Design
Marx-Saunders Gallery (Chicago IL)
Not-for-profits/magazines
Art + Auction
Bridge Magazine
Chicago Art Foundation
Columbia College Chicago Art & Design Department
Flash Art International
Modern Painters
Nova has also officially endorsed by Superstar Barrack Obama (it must be good) and Mayor Daley (it might suck then) Bad at Sports is the official Podcast and Iconoduel is the official blog. Which makes Art or Idiocy? the official hard-core under-ground, fuck you art blog of Chicago’s Summer Art Fairs.
Art or Idiocy? hit the Art Chicago in the Park, Near the Lake, and Still Evicted website. We were recently excited to see the opening blurry animation and the “6” replacing the “5.” Now if you enter the site, the “6” is everywhere! And there is a promise for an upcoming complete list of exhibitors. We are glad Thomas Blackman & Ass. is continuing on, especially after the much-blurbed no-go of “Art New York.” And aside from parts of the tent that creaked and shuddered like the hold of a pirate ship, the lack of magazines and a depressing "VIP area" (boohoo) last year's incarnation was quite good. There was a lot of good work, and the location is really much much better then the atrocious milleu at the pier. Art or Idiocy? will be there, Art or Idiocy? will be at Nova. Will you?
Nova website
Art Chicago in the Park 2006 website
Now if only they will have a free shuttle bewteen them!
“No double standards. We want justice!”
Read a sign in a giant protest against those pesky Danish cartoons. Again, the Art or Idiocy? headline of “Irony Apparently Not one of Muhammad’s Teachings” is applicable. Everyone else has their deities, holy figures &c. parodied all over the world. So it is a double standard for the Muslims out for blood to expect everyone to respect their wishes.
Now people are offering ransoms and rewards for the death of cartoonists. So basically all these rioters are underscoring the points made by the cartoons. The actions of these radical, riotous ridiculous Muslims are making those caricatures real. Painfully real. Following down this path, I assume someone will eventually make a total joke of the religion and actually kill one of the cartoonists. How? In a suicide bombing, of course!
In other news of images causing controversy, more Abu Ghraib photos have been published. The media is bringing up the question of why is it that America will air and publish images that discredit our national character, but not the cartoons that parody Muhammad? American media should not publish the toons. This is because the images are easily accessible all over the internet. And the U.S. has already done enough to piss of the Middle East.
This whole scandal of the cartoons is a perfect example of how unquestioning devotion and submission to fundamentalist religion leads down a path of destruction.
Cartoon for cagle.com by Brian Fairrington
Also being made clear is how precious our freedoms are. How we can all take for granted what we can do and say in this country and in the West. The absurd actions, and at this point one is hardpressed to describe them as anything but, make evident how much more violent, mob-minded and reactionary radical Islam is than anything fundamentalist nutjob rightwingers are in America.
It is also disturbing that there is almost no voice, at least seeing publication, of Muslims opposed to all the violence and rioting. Both the Danish government and the paper have now apologized. And it is insane to expect more. Part of religious freedom is that you can not hold those who do not practice your beliefs accountable to your religious punishments. But that is the whole clash, right? The West's stance is Freedom of Religion and Freedom of the Press. The Middle East's is mandatory religion and the press is controlled by government.
And finally, the much-delayed response, and the pronouncements leaders and clerics are making indicates this whole controversy is a scapegoat and is being used for an agenda of violence by radical Islam.
Some good cartoonists’ responses
The strongest point made, and not all are pro-Danish, is that Muslims should be much more enraged by extremists invoking the name of Muhammad for the purpose of terrorism, violence and murder.
Now people are offering ransoms and rewards for the death of cartoonists. So basically all these rioters are underscoring the points made by the cartoons. The actions of these radical, riotous ridiculous Muslims are making those caricatures real. Painfully real. Following down this path, I assume someone will eventually make a total joke of the religion and actually kill one of the cartoonists. How? In a suicide bombing, of course!
In other news of images causing controversy, more Abu Ghraib photos have been published. The media is bringing up the question of why is it that America will air and publish images that discredit our national character, but not the cartoons that parody Muhammad? American media should not publish the toons. This is because the images are easily accessible all over the internet. And the U.S. has already done enough to piss of the Middle East.
This whole scandal of the cartoons is a perfect example of how unquestioning devotion and submission to fundamentalist religion leads down a path of destruction.
Cartoon for cagle.com by Brian Fairrington
Also being made clear is how precious our freedoms are. How we can all take for granted what we can do and say in this country and in the West. The absurd actions, and at this point one is hardpressed to describe them as anything but, make evident how much more violent, mob-minded and reactionary radical Islam is than anything fundamentalist nutjob rightwingers are in America.
It is also disturbing that there is almost no voice, at least seeing publication, of Muslims opposed to all the violence and rioting. Both the Danish government and the paper have now apologized. And it is insane to expect more. Part of religious freedom is that you can not hold those who do not practice your beliefs accountable to your religious punishments. But that is the whole clash, right? The West's stance is Freedom of Religion and Freedom of the Press. The Middle East's is mandatory religion and the press is controlled by government.
And finally, the much-delayed response, and the pronouncements leaders and clerics are making indicates this whole controversy is a scapegoat and is being used for an agenda of violence by radical Islam.
Some good cartoonists’ responses
The strongest point made, and not all are pro-Danish, is that Muslims should be much more enraged by extremists invoking the name of Muhammad for the purpose of terrorism, violence and murder.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Mohammed Mo Problems
Mohammed praying at the Ka'aba in Mecca. Turkish miniature from the Ottoman Empire; date unknown. [Scholars indicate the faces was scratched out rather than left unpainted]
Thank you to Tish Noël for the tip to the most important link yet. It is The Mohammed Image Archive. (Note: it takes a long time to load, but is worth it) It traces depictions of Mohammed (confused on spelling, there seem to be several ways out there) throughout history. Depictions are from both Western and Muslim countries, beginning with miniatures from the medieval era through to today. The archive is factual and professional, presenting an unbiased look at the historical evidence. Most notable are the parodies and caricatures throughout the years that have NOT caused uproars. Again begging the question, why now? Why over these cartoons?
The Angel Gabriel is leading Mohammed to heaven and some amazing beef stock in this German ad that did not insight mass rioting 1928.
One possible answer is discussed in The Mohammed Image Archive. The original Jyllands-Posten page only had 12 cartoons...
- ‘Yet when a delegation of Danish imams went to the Middle East to "discuss" the issue of the cartoons with senior officials and prominent Islamic scholars [link to: counter terrorism blog], the imams openly distributed a booklet that showed 15 images -- not only the original 12 cartoons, but three fraudulent anti-Mohammed depictions that were much more offensive than the ones published in Denmark. [link to: biblenin blog] it is now thought that these three bonus images are what ignited the outrage in the Muslim world. The newspaper Ekstra Bladet obtained a copy of the booklet and presented the three offensive images on its Web site (though not in an easy-to-find place). All look like low-quality photocopies. [link to: Ekstra Bladet, scroll down for booklet]
They are so obviously fake fake fake! And way more offensive. And funnier! They are so stupid and funny. Here is the best one:
The caption reads: "The real reason Muslims pray"
It is totally ridiculous, absurd and funny. I'm sorry, but I find the whole idea of this being passed off as a real editorial cartoon is funny. And the image is so stupid, and that is funny. And it looks like something a redneck racist would do and think was really clever. And that is funny too. Not to mention, this isn't even a depiction of Mohammed.
They are basically the stereotypical mean cartoon from jr. high. Akin to drawing the teacher with stink lines and warts, or the principal fucking a dog. And the best part of it is that whoever made these is/are totally fucked. Is it not a worse crime, at least karmically, to be the imam that draws a cartoon of Mohammed as a pedophile (one of the fake ones shows that) in order to deceive other Muslims and whip them up into a fit of rage? Because you are still defiling him, and then on top of that you are a liar.
When things like this come to light, it is harder to defend the riotous reactions. And as the riots have quickly grown to involve things that have NOTHING to do with the cartoons or Denmark, it becomes apparent that those acting out in violence are using it as an excuse.
The Biblen blog, which might be a little anti-Islam, presents a compelling timeline of events and brings up a story never to reach our soil about Saudi Arabia being at fault for the deaths of 350 Pilgrims. Here we have the Saudi government pulling a maneuver like those done by American presidents, both past and present.
- “September: Twelve innocent cartoons are published in a far-away country. [Very good point. These images were not published in a Muslim country, nor the Middle East. They were not published as an affront to Islam and were not published as a whole sale attack on Arabs.]
October: The drawings are printed in an Egypt newspaper - no riots ensue.
November: Nothing
December: Nothing
January: Nothing
January 12th: 350 people are killed in Saudi Arabia because of poor planning. Much of the Muslim world hurl criticism at Saudi Arabia.
January: All the state controlled newspapers suddenly decide not to write about the 350 dead pilgrims anymore, and start writing about twelve cartoons published four months ago in a small far-away country.
January: Boycott of Danish good starts in Saudi Arabia - other countries are to follow
February: Violent protests at Danish embassies - protesters are often waving Saudi Arabian flags.”
So the plot thickens.
Cartoon response from Fillibustercartoons.com
• All the images in this post were found on The Mohammed Image Archive •
Monday, February 06, 2006
Apparently Irony Not One of Muhammad’s Teachings
I have continued thinking over this issue and have some new thoughts posted at the bottom, please review them as well.
Thanks
E. Wenzel
Director & Head Bloggist, Art or Idiocy?
Truly a case of art or idiocy is the recent fury over some political cartoons published BACK IN SEPTEMBER by a Danish newspaper.
Visit the links below for various accounts, timelines and perspectives on the controversy.
Here is a link to ALL of the cartoons, albeit heavily pixilated. While some are admittedly edgy, some are actually quite sweet and straightforward. SEE YOU IN HELL, INFIDEL!
Wikipedia is there anything you don’t know?
It seems the offending paper actually apologized on February 1st.
Excellent reportage from Der Spiegel
MMM That’s Good Satire!
I don’t think the publisher’s intended or even imagined such a massive backlash. Art comes with responsibility. One should always weigh the pros and cons of their actions. That said, I do not find these cartoons offensive at all. Some of them are even funny. None are shocking or particularly clever. Critically, the bomb image has everything you need: direct imagery which requires no explanation, and a dada-like hybrid of objects. I am not Muslim and currently practice the Agnostic faith [sic]. So I can not even pretend to know where those in the Middle East are coming from. But I still think those whose protests led to violence, destruction and even death are out of line and are over reacting. And those who call for the deaths of the cartoonists and editors are totally off base. They are doing so much harm to Islam. Essentially they are living up to, and beyond what the cartoons satirized. Those actions and statements are as damning to Islam as the actions of fundamentalist Christians are to Christianity.
It may also seem odd that the Bush Administration has sided with the Muslims on this, but not really. This is because our current government is interested in curtailing freedom of speech in favor of religious zealotry. Freedom of speech allows us to openly criticize the obvious faults of Bush & co. Religious zealotry roles back civil rights and equal rights; leaves abortion clinics bombed in the name of life and homosexuality outlawed and constitutionally discriminated against.
Very few Westerners can boast any sorting of understanding of the Middle East, its culture, or religious faiths. Watching more and more coverage on this escalating situation, it has become clear there is much much more behind this than simple caricature. These images have touched off tense nerves and strained relations. Essentially what we are seeing is a culture clash that has been building for decades. If not these cartoons, then something else would have caused this eruption.
We Westerners are not viewing the images in a context that at all resembles the context of those who are offended and rioting over it. It has been centuries since the images of any of Western culture’s religious figures have held such importance. But in the Muslim world the image and the idea of Muhammed is very very sacred. We Westerners are miss educated and ignorant. But this is not all the lazy couch potato’s fault. The media, the government and educational institutions have not made the history or ideas of cultures beyond our own very available.
I went to a well respected high school, but my study of history consisted of U.S. History, Economics and Western Civilization. All the years from kindergarten through high school we hear the about same damn Pilgrims, Revolution and Civil War (and those are all subject to question). But only one year to learn about Western Europe. And you can forget Asia Africa and the Middle East. I feel like an idiot.
And so should the President. During his State of the Union last week he took a moment to directly address the people of Iran. He earnestly spoke to them about how the U.S. supports them in their fight for Democracy, their desire to be free and overthrow their dictator. Is he a retarded boy in a bubble? Does his cabinet just say, “yes, yes, Mr. President! Iran LOVES Democracy! Of course, they want to be free of that evil dictator! No, they are just dying to have Haliburton open a branch in Tehran! Sure, sure, we’ll get you another pudding cup, you just rest your little head. OK, let me go through the airlock, we don’t want any News to get in.” I mean fuck. This is the West’s attitude. “Of course they want to be like us! Who doesn't like American Idol? Why, you’d have to be some sort of Freedom-hater to not want our system of taxes and healthcare!”
On top of this is our miss understanding and ignorance of Europe. And this whole catastrophe over these cartoons, I hope, is highlighting how everyone just needs to take a step back and not launch into angry redirect.
At least, for once, the US is staying aloof of things. America is not really at the center of the heat, and today, a spokesman did a very good job of supporting free speech and freedom of the press while stressing the need for religious tolerance. Who was that guy? Let’s put him in charge.
But this is very serious. If you listen to how the violence is spreading, it has quickly moved beyond the cartoons. Christian areas in Muslim countries have been sacked. Palestine is going nuts. Fucking embassies are being firebombed. And many are seeing this as leading to people voicing grievances in general against the West. Iraq, and Gaza strip being the main two. With all that, it is very hard not to give into believing the Muslim stereotype of a mad bomber.
How will all this play out? Is it crazy to fear the worst? Are these cartoons the equivalent of Arch Duke Ferdinand’s assassination (that caused WWI)? At the heart of all this is the Muslim world’s anger an frustration. And I don’t really think many of us understand it or can begin to criticize it. We can at least try to understand it, though. Let me note, though, nomatter what, I can not support calls for murder and beheading over cartoons. As much as the West needs to understand where Islam is coming from, Islam needs to understand it is not acceptable to march through London calling for that.
This may not be the most directly related to art. I am not going to talk about how powerful images must be in order to cause this. What is happening is not some semiotic triumph. But this is art. And this is culture. And it is a million times more important than who LACMA has picked as its next director. Read what Hans Haacke has to say about art and politics below. Art world, get your fucking head out of your asshole and pay attention!
Thanks
E. Wenzel
Director & Head Bloggist, Art or Idiocy?
Truly a case of art or idiocy is the recent fury over some political cartoons published BACK IN SEPTEMBER by a Danish newspaper.
Visit the links below for various accounts, timelines and perspectives on the controversy.
Here is a link to ALL of the cartoons, albeit heavily pixilated. While some are admittedly edgy, some are actually quite sweet and straightforward. SEE YOU IN HELL, INFIDEL!
Wikipedia is there anything you don’t know?
It seems the offending paper actually apologized on February 1st.
Excellent reportage from Der Spiegel
MMM That’s Good Satire!
I don’t think the publisher’s intended or even imagined such a massive backlash. Art comes with responsibility. One should always weigh the pros and cons of their actions. That said, I do not find these cartoons offensive at all. Some of them are even funny. None are shocking or particularly clever. Critically, the bomb image has everything you need: direct imagery which requires no explanation, and a dada-like hybrid of objects. I am not Muslim and currently practice the Agnostic faith [sic]. So I can not even pretend to know where those in the Middle East are coming from. But I still think those whose protests led to violence, destruction and even death are out of line and are over reacting. And those who call for the deaths of the cartoonists and editors are totally off base. They are doing so much harm to Islam. Essentially they are living up to, and beyond what the cartoons satirized. Those actions and statements are as damning to Islam as the actions of fundamentalist Christians are to Christianity.
It may also seem odd that the Bush Administration has sided with the Muslims on this, but not really. This is because our current government is interested in curtailing freedom of speech in favor of religious zealotry. Freedom of speech allows us to openly criticize the obvious faults of Bush & co. Religious zealotry roles back civil rights and equal rights; leaves abortion clinics bombed in the name of life and homosexuality outlawed and constitutionally discriminated against.
Further thoughts on the Foofaraw
Very few Westerners can boast any sorting of understanding of the Middle East, its culture, or religious faiths. Watching more and more coverage on this escalating situation, it has become clear there is much much more behind this than simple caricature. These images have touched off tense nerves and strained relations. Essentially what we are seeing is a culture clash that has been building for decades. If not these cartoons, then something else would have caused this eruption.
We Westerners are not viewing the images in a context that at all resembles the context of those who are offended and rioting over it. It has been centuries since the images of any of Western culture’s religious figures have held such importance. But in the Muslim world the image and the idea of Muhammed is very very sacred. We Westerners are miss educated and ignorant. But this is not all the lazy couch potato’s fault. The media, the government and educational institutions have not made the history or ideas of cultures beyond our own very available.
I went to a well respected high school, but my study of history consisted of U.S. History, Economics and Western Civilization. All the years from kindergarten through high school we hear the about same damn Pilgrims, Revolution and Civil War (and those are all subject to question). But only one year to learn about Western Europe. And you can forget Asia Africa and the Middle East. I feel like an idiot.
And so should the President. During his State of the Union last week he took a moment to directly address the people of Iran. He earnestly spoke to them about how the U.S. supports them in their fight for Democracy, their desire to be free and overthrow their dictator. Is he a retarded boy in a bubble? Does his cabinet just say, “yes, yes, Mr. President! Iran LOVES Democracy! Of course, they want to be free of that evil dictator! No, they are just dying to have Haliburton open a branch in Tehran! Sure, sure, we’ll get you another pudding cup, you just rest your little head. OK, let me go through the airlock, we don’t want any News to get in.” I mean fuck. This is the West’s attitude. “Of course they want to be like us! Who doesn't like American Idol? Why, you’d have to be some sort of Freedom-hater to not want our system of taxes and healthcare!”
On top of this is our miss understanding and ignorance of Europe. And this whole catastrophe over these cartoons, I hope, is highlighting how everyone just needs to take a step back and not launch into angry redirect.
At least, for once, the US is staying aloof of things. America is not really at the center of the heat, and today, a spokesman did a very good job of supporting free speech and freedom of the press while stressing the need for religious tolerance. Who was that guy? Let’s put him in charge.
But this is very serious. If you listen to how the violence is spreading, it has quickly moved beyond the cartoons. Christian areas in Muslim countries have been sacked. Palestine is going nuts. Fucking embassies are being firebombed. And many are seeing this as leading to people voicing grievances in general against the West. Iraq, and Gaza strip being the main two. With all that, it is very hard not to give into believing the Muslim stereotype of a mad bomber.
How will all this play out? Is it crazy to fear the worst? Are these cartoons the equivalent of Arch Duke Ferdinand’s assassination (that caused WWI)? At the heart of all this is the Muslim world’s anger an frustration. And I don’t really think many of us understand it or can begin to criticize it. We can at least try to understand it, though. Let me note, though, nomatter what, I can not support calls for murder and beheading over cartoons. As much as the West needs to understand where Islam is coming from, Islam needs to understand it is not acceptable to march through London calling for that.
This may not be the most directly related to art. I am not going to talk about how powerful images must be in order to cause this. What is happening is not some semiotic triumph. But this is art. And this is culture. And it is a million times more important than who LACMA has picked as its next director. Read what Hans Haacke has to say about art and politics below. Art world, get your fucking head out of your asshole and pay attention!
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Apropos
After the speech last night it seems appropriate to cite Hans Haacke. Below is a quote from Haacke’s recent show at Paula Cooper.
"Experience tells us we should never leave politics to the politicians. Aside from the trouble this can get us into, such abdication would also be in conflict with generally held notions of democracy. But it would also be dangerous for art. Shutting out the social world would reduce it to a self-consuming 'art for art's sake.”
Hans Haacke • untitled • 2005
"Experience tells us we should never leave politics to the politicians. Aside from the trouble this can get us into, such abdication would also be in conflict with generally held notions of democracy. But it would also be dangerous for art. Shutting out the social world would reduce it to a self-consuming 'art for art's sake.”
Hans Haacke
Refco Riffed
Folding Chair brings up artnet’s January 27th report that Christie’s will auction off Refco’s photography collection in the wake of the company’s bankruptcy. What is worth noting about the story is that Francis Dittmer assembled the collection. Frances was wife of Thomas Dittmer, the head of Refco. Refco was sold in 1998 to Phillip Bennett... And you’ve got to love artnet’s language on this) “...who is credited with leading Refco into bankruptcy.” Good job, Phil.
Frances Dittmer divorced Thomas Dittmer and stayed on at Refco as a consultant. It was during Bennett’s tenure that she built the photography collection.
Why is this of note? Because James Rondeau is the Frances and Thomas Dittmer Curator of Contemporary Art at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Chicago-wise it also gets sticky in regards to a piece by Andreas Gursky and the Museum of Contemporary Art. Matthew Marks, the gallerist who’s famously declared that all of his artists belong in museums, sold on of Gursky’s Avenue of the Americas prints to Refco. The deal being that Refco would eventually give it to the MCA. The MCA owns 10% now, Refco pledged the remaining 90% be given to the MCA by 2008. This is all uncertain now that the collection is being auctioned as part of Refco’s bankruptcy.
Artists in the collection soon to be on the block include: Marina Abramovic, Vito Acconci Janine Antoni, Matthew Barney, Chris Burden, Sophie Calle, Gregory Crewdson, Rineke Dijkstra, Olafur Eliasson, Walker Evans, Eva Hesse, Inigo Manglano-Ovalle, Ana Mendieta, Gordon Matta-Clark, Mariko Mori, Catherine Opie, Richard Prince, Gerhard Richter, Ed Ruscha Andres Serrano, Laurie Simmons, Gavin Turk, and Andy Warhol.
Art or Idiocy? found all the nitty gritty in a Bloomberg article from January 19th HERE
There is also a Tribune report from December 13th HERE
The collection’s catalogue, with entries by Adam Brooks, Dave Hickey, Kathryn Hixson and David Rimanelli is HERE
Frances Dittmer divorced Thomas Dittmer and stayed on at Refco as a consultant. It was during Bennett’s tenure that she built the photography collection.
Why is this of note? Because James Rondeau is the Frances and Thomas Dittmer Curator of Contemporary Art at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Chicago-wise it also gets sticky in regards to a piece by Andreas Gursky and the Museum of Contemporary Art. Matthew Marks, the gallerist who’s famously declared that all of his artists belong in museums, sold on of Gursky’s Avenue of the Americas prints to Refco. The deal being that Refco would eventually give it to the MCA. The MCA owns 10% now, Refco pledged the remaining 90% be given to the MCA by 2008. This is all uncertain now that the collection is being auctioned as part of Refco’s bankruptcy.
Artists in the collection soon to be on the block include: Marina Abramovic, Vito Acconci Janine Antoni, Matthew Barney, Chris Burden, Sophie Calle, Gregory Crewdson, Rineke Dijkstra, Olafur Eliasson, Walker Evans, Eva Hesse, Inigo Manglano-Ovalle, Ana Mendieta, Gordon Matta-Clark, Mariko Mori, Catherine Opie, Richard Prince, Gerhard Richter, Ed Ruscha Andres Serrano, Laurie Simmons, Gavin Turk, and Andy Warhol.
Art or Idiocy? found all the nitty gritty in a Bloomberg article from January 19th HERE
There is also a Tribune report from December 13th HERE
The collection’s catalogue, with entries by Adam Brooks, Dave Hickey, Kathryn Hixson and David Rimanelli is HERE
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