9/15 Assignment

 

                      Trespassing Toward Relevance

• “A signature element of this growth of the culture industry is the emphatic co-opting of all forms of America’s counter culture. The major powers in the US economy were now standing side by side with the likes of the beatniks, the ravers, the punks, the gangsters and the revolutionaries.”

• “The urban environment has also been home to a variety of tactics of representation such as graffiti, wheat paste posters, stickers, and stencils. This Do It Yourself (DIY) aesthetics is often relegated to an “outsider” art of the art world since it depends on its physical and legal position. Or to speak plainly, these projects shine brightly when they are illegally placed on the walls of downtown areas. Their dependence on illegality makes the results of visual exhaustion evident, since they only become visible when placed in unsanctioned areas”

When all the corporations had gestured that they were in support of Black Lives Matter in wake of the riots in Minneapolis, many saw them for what they are. Vague gestures that are ultimately meaningless. This posturing for cheap political clout has become all the more prevalent in the Information Age. This tactic by the ones in power interestingly enough also expands out into the world of street art, in which many graffiti artists get paid by cities to create murals that drive up the prices of homes. Many struggling artists are given the chance to make actual money but often at the cost of pushing many creatives out of the neighborhoods where those murals are put up. 

Understanding Patriarchy

• “blind obedience—the foundation upon which patriarchy stands; the repression of all emotions except fear; the destruction of individual willpower; and the repression of thinking whenever it departs from the authority figure’s way of thinking.” 

• “Both the feminist and antifeminist views are rooted in a peculiarly modern American perception that to be a man means to be at the controls and at all times to feel yourself in control.”

I believe that in regards to the first quote we as a society are getting better at not being so dogmatic in our approach to gender relations and gender itself. The fact that more people are becoming more self accepting, and have realized who they truly are is an actual substantial step that society has taken. The control aspect is also interesting as this has also taken an interesting shift in which. When the woman is the head of a fortune 500 company it is seen as a sign of progress and while it’s good in a certain aspect that there is somewhat more of a balance in power, it is ultimately hollow due to the lack of intersectionality. It’s like celebrating that the head of Rikers is a black person. 

Brad Troemel 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CPBJLtch01c/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Brad is my dad. Ok he is not my dad but he's one of my favorite current artist. His work currently mocks the late capitalist pandering of giant corporations, and an alternate reality page @maincharactersandevents that satirizes current art world, and political narratives. Brad inspires me because he is acutely aware of the failings of the fine art world and his work directly shits on it, as well as the bogged down absolutism of the current social landscape. As much as a love many fine artists. I don't feel as though they tackled the systems at play in a way I felt was truly proactive.

Personally that's why I became an Illustration major. I did not enjoy the idea of only one person owning a copy of my intended work nor did I like the idea of selling my work through that of a gallery (I know there are fine artist that sell on there own).  Also I feel as though a lot of what were considered primarily hollow commercial mediums like comics and games having a more profound effect and are often more engaged.