Here's a list of and info on a a selection of the 'best' artists of the moment most are unsurprisingly on it
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-06-05/damien-hirst-jeff-koons-more-most-important-artists-of-today/
Somethings that he mentions in his interview with Tacita Dean has made me think about something I have been pondering recently. Do artist have to have some sort of past history/experience that causes them - maybe on an unconcious level - to make the work they do, or is that recognising/revealing of a possible reason to why they do something that impacts/impacted on their lives an easy attempt at trying to make sense of them and their work? Does an art work work if the person who makes it has no relationship to the concepts that define it?
Kit
It's probably too early to consider genetic-aesthetics (without including nepotism) as a valid argument in art, but it's a nice romantic idea that works for articles like this... I guess you can always tie in why you did this to something that happened in your past - there's always a way to associate the most disparate of subjects and ideas together through tenuous links (dreams, simulacras, supposed memories).
ReplyDeleteFunnily enough I was thinking about what to send Craig for this exhibition that's coming up, and I've finally decided what I'm going to send for it - it's an 8 page astrological report written by a friend of my mum a little under a year after I was born. I think I've mentioned it to Sam before but the person who wrote it decided to lay out what my future, personality, character and achievements would be before I was even a year old! It's quite a read. I got shown it when I was about 10 and found it quite ridiculous, and I still do. Even so, some of the things mentioned have still lingered in my head and I wonder - have I consciously over the succeeding 15/24 years tried to avoid doing the things listed in the report, or even achieve them? Would I have become the person the report suggests even if I had not read it? Do the formation of the planets at the time of my birth play a part in my future, or is it really all a load of shit? Are the things that seem accurate in the report valid proof, or just vague generalisations? Is the report really laying down the truth or is it more of a guide for how parents can raise their child? So many questions. I guess like art, there really is no right or wrong answer...