Stockholm, Oct 3rd - 7th.
I can feel the extent to which I am still learning the inner workings of the art world. It happens that I get irritated, frustrated, when I think of how much money goes around in the art world; a dense and topheavy industry carried on the backs of a producing class who most of the time barely make it to pay the rent and even less take part of the prestige.
The problem is that we - artists - seem to consider some things more important than money. This seemingly small difference in priorites has huge consequences. Anyway, from such a perspective, events like the Affordable Art Fair could really be understood as positive for the artists. (Note; this is only includes artists making objects, works that can easily be bought and sold). It attempts to teach the normative middleclass culture interested Citizen X how to become an art collector. By doing this the possibility increases for artists to sell their work and in a ridiculously far extension to earn a living of it.
However - I also see devaluation in sight. The word "art" is so prestigious, and being an "art collector" means being part of an intellectual and cultural elite. To make the elite accessible to anybody it seems that the word art can be filled with almost anything.
(...)
What is art? -----!!!")(€T(U"=OQ?"O`
Anyway - lots of what I saw isn't art. Sure, accounting for all possible different opinions anything could be art at any given time, but in my more limited definition, lots of what I saw isn't. Some was closer to decoration, and some felt like it pretended to be art, as if imitating what art looks like, without really getting the point.
I felt a strong need to recontextualize some works that I liked, since they felt lost and plain when offered up this bluntly to be measured and weighed and sold. So profane. "All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned, and man is at last compelled to face with sober senses his real conditions of life, and his relations with his kind." (Im sorry I couldnt help myself).
These are some of the works that I found pretty, some of the artists I would like to meet in another context (It sucks, only men this time...).
Perran Costi
Skybox Small - Kangaroo Paws
Pretty - I like the format, its inspiring. Yet, perhaps too pretty, too easy. Birds, skies, leaves.
Carl Gustavsson
(Title unknown)
The photograph isn't great but the painting was beautiful. It reminds me of a film by my friend artist Sophie Valero, a film about a house that somehow seemed lost in time.
Brendan Austin
Paper Mountain
I really like Austin's work. As a contrast to much of the art and non-art that I saw during the fair I think these maintained their strength, mystery and presence throughout. Very nice.
Mathias van Arkel
Silicon-werk
Cute, for sure has presence. I like it, I want to touch it, I want to roll around in soft warm rolls of acrylic wax.
Jon Harvey
Fuck like Bunnies
I guess I liked this work more before I paid attention to the title (which was now..). Without title, its just such an extraordinarily weird object. Whats not to like? ;-)
Stockholm
12-10-04
(And Im going to NY next week!)
