14.5.08

Formalist

I become fixated on this idea that art should be useful, proletariat and that purely aesthetical treatments are otiose. And then two things happen:
1. I am not entirely sure what that means
2. I come across artist like Jessica Stockholder whose work, simply put, I like.You know I’ve been thinking about why that matters and I think pleasure matters a great deal. Pleasure is very political and pleasure is part of what controls people. Advertising is directed at our pleasure and homophobia is about where people find pleasure. I think growing up, how and what pleasures us is carefully controlled. Socially, people have a lot of opinions about it. Babies, pacifiers, and bottles—hugely fraught subject because it has something to do with people’s pleasure. -jessica stockholder

2 comments:

Jeannie said...

useful art is kinda like graphic design no? so that makes sense that you are thinking that way day to day i think.
i love this ...

Gina Kay said...

I agree for the most part. we could argue about junk mail or Ryan McGinnis...

I guess the word useful should be defined here, huh? hmmm

returning to #1: I am not entirely sure what that means