ARTISTS
Where'd I Leave Those TUMs? | Announcing #rank
I'll have more on SEVEN as the days progress. Let it suffice for me to say right now, after the past two years we've all had, that participating
/ Edward Winkleman
29 Sep, 2010
I'll have more on SEVEN as the days progress. Let it suffice for me to say right now, after the past two years we've all had, that participating in it feels so invigorating: anything feels possible.聽
Of course, "anything" doesn't necessarily mean only warm and fuzzy things. As I stock up, again, on chewable antacids, it gives me pleasure (read: trepidation) to announce: #rank at SEVEN.
Following their collaboration last spring in #class, artists Jennifer Dalton and William Powhida are teaming up again to explore another side of this art world we all love. From their new fancy schmancy website:
#rank statement
Art is (still) a luxury commodity for the wealthy that limits access to ownership, participation and understanding for the majority of society based on class, education, gender, and geography.
The Miami art fairs make literal the hierarchies within the contemporary art world and its detachment from broader society. The Miami fair events sort everyone 鈥� visitors, locals, and participants 鈥� into a highly stratified caste system based on which fair (if any) we are associated with; which color pass (if any) we are wearing; which parties we plan to attend; which day we arrive in Miami; if we are paying for our own plane ticket and place to stay; which neighborhood or hotel we are staying in; if and where we are showing or buying artwork; if we drive, get driven, or take the shuttle bus; and countless other ranking mechanisms.
While we appreciate the bluntness of art fair culture (and especially appreciate the fact that we are sometimes able to sell work there), we can鈥檛 help but feel queasy with our complicity in this disgusting scheme, all of which takes place within the city of Miami, whose own class, race, and geographical hierarchies are abundantly obvious and pretty much entirely ignored.
So, we aim to explore what is the matter with the art fair and the art market? How might it be improved, tweaked, or overthrown?
Along this exploratory path, we have unearthed some paradoxes that bear consideration:
We think art should be a gift but we don鈥檛 want to work for free.
We want art to be accessible to everyone, but when it actually is (cansomeone say 鈥淲ork of Art鈥�?) we want to throw up.
We want people to pay attention to our work but we don鈥檛 like being thecenter of attention.
We want our work to be available to everyone but we can鈥檛 afford to sellit for cheap.
We want to buy art too, but we can鈥檛 afford most of it at the art fairs.
Yeah, yeah...it seemed like a good idea after a few scotch and sodas.聽
Seriously, though, we are delighted to present #rank in Miami (and as always, William Powhida appears courtesy of Schroeder Romero & Shredder, who have their grand reopening in just one week and a day...tick, tock...tick, tock :-) ). Furthermore, SEVEN is shaping up to be an amazing opportunity to take our show on the road the way we'd have invented it ourselves, given the chance...which now we have been.
More soon on both #rank and SEVEN.
Of course, "anything" doesn't necessarily mean only warm and fuzzy things. As I stock up, again, on chewable antacids, it gives me pleasure (read: trepidation) to announce: #rank at SEVEN.
Following their collaboration last spring in #class, artists Jennifer Dalton and William Powhida are teaming up again to explore another side of this art world we all love. From their new fancy schmancy website:
#rank statement
Art is (still) a luxury commodity for the wealthy that limits access to ownership, participation and understanding for the majority of society based on class, education, gender, and geography.
The Miami art fairs make literal the hierarchies within the contemporary art world and its detachment from broader society. The Miami fair events sort everyone 鈥� visitors, locals, and participants 鈥� into a highly stratified caste system based on which fair (if any) we are associated with; which color pass (if any) we are wearing; which parties we plan to attend; which day we arrive in Miami; if we are paying for our own plane ticket and place to stay; which neighborhood or hotel we are staying in; if and where we are showing or buying artwork; if we drive, get driven, or take the shuttle bus; and countless other ranking mechanisms.
While we appreciate the bluntness of art fair culture (and especially appreciate the fact that we are sometimes able to sell work there), we can鈥檛 help but feel queasy with our complicity in this disgusting scheme, all of which takes place within the city of Miami, whose own class, race, and geographical hierarchies are abundantly obvious and pretty much entirely ignored.
So, we aim to explore what is the matter with the art fair and the art market? How might it be improved, tweaked, or overthrown?
Along this exploratory path, we have unearthed some paradoxes that bear consideration:
We think art should be a gift but we don鈥檛 want to work for free.
We want art to be accessible to everyone, but when it actually is (cansomeone say 鈥淲ork of Art鈥�?) we want to throw up.
We want people to pay attention to our work but we don鈥檛 like being thecenter of attention.
We want our work to be available to everyone but we can鈥檛 afford to sellit for cheap.
We want to buy art too, but we can鈥檛 afford most of it at the art fairs.
Yeah, yeah...it seemed like a good idea after a few scotch and sodas.聽
Seriously, though, we are delighted to present #rank in Miami (and as always, William Powhida appears courtesy of Schroeder Romero & Shredder, who have their grand reopening in just one week and a day...tick, tock...tick, tock :-) ). Furthermore, SEVEN is shaping up to be an amazing opportunity to take our show on the road the way we'd have invented it ourselves, given the chance...which now we have been.
More soon on both #rank and SEVEN.
