Art Vent

Letting the Fresh Air In

Whitney Biennial: The gift that keeps on giving

June 16, 2008 - 9:26pm -- Carol Diehl
The Whitney Biennial is now over, but clearly there's no limit to the fun we can still have with it. Reader Judi Collins sent this, The Cat Condos Project by The Infinity Lab:



which was inspired by this (after a brief commercial):



Do share your thoughts.

Comments

I've had a Blinding Flash of Insight! I've been going about my art practice, and writing of statements, ALL WRONG. I've been sincerely trying to extend the boundaries of human perception, consciousness and wisdom, when what I SHOULD have been doing all this time was marketing versions of class projects from grades K-3!

I see the light, now. It is beauteous, it is simple. The whole world is an Underserved Community; nobody in the world got to do all the fun K-3 class projects that I did. They didn't get to plant gardens, or learn about animal habitats, or do silly little dances. They are just crying out for me to share my experience!

And here I thought I had to do all this hard work on becoming enlightened, first.

Oh my god, bravo! That was a spot-on parody. But I wanted to see the condos, dammit! They should have built the actual condos. I know. I'm a demanding viewer.

Speaking of demanding, I know this is dangerous terrain of discourse (Yay! I used the word "discourse"!), but... How is what this dude does construed as art? It's just acts of pleasant eccentricity. I find myself so at odds with the art world when it insists on wild confusion of realms in this manner.

Am I to understand that virtually any behaviour constitutes art-making if it is odd enough, and virtually any product of such behaviour is an art object if Whitney says it is? And which window do I go to for a refund?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on
Fritz is either bad at communicating his artistic intentions or is poorly represented by this video clip. I think that almost anything is art as long as it is defended appropriately. Art communicates, then after that we need elaboration for what it is attempting to say. Obviously the girl is annoyed by what is allowed to enter the Whitney, but wouldn't her frustration be more valid if she transformed that energy into a project that represents her own artistic intentions?

I think there are more mature paths to criticism than through mocking someone else's good intentions. He should be given credit for trying. Her sole intention appears to be bringing him down. Maybe from jealousy? Who knows?

Anonymous: "Fritz is either bad at communicating his artistic intentions or poorly represented by this video"

I make no excuses for professionals. If you're a professional and bad at communication then you deal with it either by not communicating, having someone else do it for you, or learning how to communicate--and you do not give your imprimatur to a promotional video that you feel does not represent you at your best.

The "Cat Condos" video falls under the heading of satire, which has long been considered a valid form of criticism.

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