Damn J. Damn.
Props on taking it
here ^
So, at first I was annoyed about this, Jay (may I call you Jay?). Maybe because it seemed like there was too much deliberate defiance, when for me, such spontaneous and gut-bound instincts like defiance should arise naturally and develop in line with (corrupted) motive-(read capitalistic, showmanship-y, look-at-me-i'm-so-avant-garde, part 3 of our marketing/PR roll-out)free intentions (and yes, the motive and the means, the medium and the method
do implicate the final product because regardless of outcome, it's important to have a foundation and journey of integrity, especially as one taking a position of mediating experiences, emotions and base elements to elevate them in the public eye as 'art', a term I'd love to see maintain some shreds of dignity and sanctity in an increasingly anything-goes, no-real-thought-or-spiritually-derived-intention, pop-reality-TV world... I digress; goin' hyphy crazy tonight, huh?). From the first whispers I heard of this stunt, there seemed to be too much carefully-coached contradiction for it to hold up in the name of authenticity.
However, what arises in the moment cannot be dismantled. When moving with, and against, and in response to a crowd and an individual who did not see it coming, who came as they were, who played with you, you who knew as much and as little as they; the nature of what arose, per
Jerry's review, seemed to be something of an alchemical cauldron of real, raw, and relational.
In the end, the wary-of-publicity-stunts part of me was subdued enough to acknowledge that, in and of itself, this was an experience in here-and-now aliveness which trumps fluff-and-fake enough to add something of value to the discussion of, to the
creation of, to the general
involvement of the public with art. And there I must say, chapeau.
Wish I coulda been there. Next time, send me an invite, would ya?
...Though, just to let you know, you do violate section 1, point 5 of the Manifesto
(
and most likely other sections,
not like you care, but just in case you were interested/needed a refresher on G-MA's OG steeze).
Marina Abramović.
An Artist’s Life (Manifesto).
—
1. An artist’s conduct in his life:
- An artist should not lie to himself or others
- An artist should not steal ideas from other artists
- An artist should not compromise for themselves or in regards to the art market
- An artist should not kill other human beings
- An artist should not make themselves into an idol
- An artist should not make themselves into an idol
- An artist should not make themselves into an idol
2. An artist’s relation to his love life:
- An artist should avoid falling in love with another artist
- An artist should avoid falling in love with another artist
- An artist should avoid falling in love with another artist
3. An artist’s relation to the erotic:
- An artist should develop an erotic point of view on the world
- An artist should be erotic
- An artist should be erotic
- An artist should be erotic
4. An artist’s relation to suffering:
- An artist should suffer
- From the suffering comes the best work
- Suffering brings transformation
- Through the suffering an artist transcends their spirit
- Through the suffering an artist transcends their spirit
- Through the suffering an artist transcends their spirit
5. An artist’s relation to depression:
- An artist should not be depressed
- Depression is a disease and should be cured
- Depression is not productive for an artist
- Depression is not productive for an artist
- Depression is not productive for an artist
6. An artist’s relation to suicide:
- Suicide is a crime against life
- An artist should not commit suicide
- An artist should not commit suicide
- An artist should not commit suicide
7. An artist’s relation to inspiration:
- An artist should look deep inside themselves for inspiration
- The deeper they look inside themselves, the more universal they become
- The artist is universe
- The artist is universe
- The artist is universe
8. An artist’s relation to self-control:
- The artist should not have self-control about his life
- The artist should have total self-control about his work
- The artist should not have self-control about his life
- The artist should have total self-control about his work
9. An artist’s relation with transparency:
- The artist should give and receive at the same time
- Transparency means receptive
- Transparency means to give
- Transparency means to receive
- Transparency means receptive
- Transparency means to give
- Transparency means to receive
- Transparency means receptive
- Transparency means to give
- Transparency means to receive
10. An artist’s relation to symbols:
- An artist creates his own symbols
- Symbols are an artist’s language
- The language must then be translated
- Sometimes it is difficult to find the key
- Sometimes it is difficult to find the key
- Sometimes it is difficult to find the key
11. An artist’s relation to silence:
- An artist has to understand silence
- An artist has to create a space for silence to enter his work
- Silence is like an island in the middle of a turbulent ocean
- Silence is like an island in the middle of a turbulent ocean
- Silence is like an island in the middle of a turbulent ocean
12. An artist’s relation to solitude:
- An artist must make time for the long periods of solitude
- Solitude is extremely important
- Away from home
- Away from the studio
- Away from family
- Away from friends
- An artist should stay for long periods of time at waterfalls
- An artist should stay for long periods of time at exploding volcanoes
- An artist should stay for long periods of time looking at the fast running rivers
- An artist should stay for long periods of time looking at the horizon where the ocean and sky meet
- An artist should stay for long periods of time looking at the stars in the night sky
13. An artist’s conduct in relation to work:
- An artist should avoid going to the studio every day
- An artist should not treat his work schedule as a bank employee does
- An artist should explore life and work only when an idea comes to
him in a dream or during the day as a vision that arises as a surprise
- An artist should not repeat himself
- An artist should not overproduce
- An artist should avoid his own art pollution
- An artist should avoid his own art pollution
- An artist should avoid his own art pollution
14. An artist’s possessions:
- Buddhist monks advise that it is best to have nine possessions in their life:
— 1 robe for the summer
— 1 robe for the winter
— 1 pair of shoes
— 1 begging bowl for food
— 1 mosquito net
— 1 prayer book
— 1 umbrella
— 1 mat to sleep on
— 1 pair of glasses if needed
- An artist should decide for himself the minimum personal possessions they should have
- An artist should have more and more of less and less
- An artist should have more and more of less and less
- An artist should have more and more of less and less
15. A list of an artist’s friends:
- An artist should have friends that lift their spirits
- An artist should have friends that lift their spirits
- An artist should have friends that lift their spirits
16. A list of an artist’s enemies:
- Enemies are very important
- The Dalai Lama has said that it is easy to have compassion with friends but much more difficult to have compassion with enemies
- An artist has to learn to forgive
- An artist has to learn to forgive
- An artist has to learn to forgive
17. Different death scenarios:
- An artist has to be aware of his own mortality
- For an artist, it is not only important how he lives his life but also how he dies
- An artist should look at the symbols of his work for the signs of different death scenarios
- An artist should die consciously without fear
- An artist should die consciously without fear
- An artist should die consciously without fear
18. Different funeral scenarios:
- An artist should give instructions before the funeral so that everything is done the way he wants it
- The funeral is the artist’s last art piece before leaving
- The funeral is the artist’s last art piece before leaving
- The funeral is the artist’s last art piece before leaving
