“Yes, but most EVERYTHING is just plain stupid.”
- – talk about crabby

I certainly don’t begrudge you your rancor; I think I just felt like I was rereading the exact same thread from a month or more ago. Hell, maybe I just had a bug of the high-minded variety stuck up my ass at the time.

But in response to your early post that “Most of this [conceptual] art is just plain stupid,” I feel compelled to say, “Yes, but most EVERYTHING is just plain stupid.” I suppose that doesn’t mean that specific stupidity ain’t worth fighting against, though, so whatever . . . as you were, gentlemen!

HIS name! There are a bunch of artists that do that…take your pick.

If the music world were like the art world, we’d all be listening to a lot of stuff that sounds like the Shaggs. At least the most banal pop singers can still carry a tune, or at least well enough so that it can be cleaned up in production.

As far as being bitter and cranky, you may be right. This has been a good place to vent and I do feel much better afterward. Although, I hope to write some positive stuff in the future. I still hold a lot of hope for the art world and realize that there is a lot of good stuff out there.

Also, I know that I (and Bill) drone on about this topic but I do think it’s important. I don’t consider this bitching but I do believe that discussing this topic and similar topics on this blog is standing up to the status quo.

You mention grace but I think it’s important to call out names and if something is fucking stupid to call it out. Are enough people doing this? Hey, I know it’s opinion but there are not enough of us conveying our true feelings.

One thing that set me off recently was hearing Lynne Warren, the curator at the MCA, when asked about figurative painting in Chicago mention one name, Joe Noderer. We have Kerry James Marshall, Tim Lowly, Jeremy Long and I can go on….whatever.

btw – This blog does feature other interesting posts besides our ranting. Recently, Matt Ballou has offered a couple of nice articles. Don’t forget that this particular post is called “WTF”.

Now I understand your (and often exude my own) seething indignation at the vast amounts of tripe in the world, but good lord, that’s all you guys talk about anymore.

It just seems that your idea of standing up to the status quo is wasting your precious time bitching with Norbert about which crap artists are wasting your precious time.

Being aware of one’s own intelligence is a blessing and a curse because you are both intellectually above the fracas of stupidity and yet beset on all sides by its amazing abundance. The trick, as far as I can tell, is to carry such a burden with grace, and I find this conversation patently ungraceful. As I asked before on this blog: why bother being offended by mediocrity?

Not trying to pop your balloons here, I’m just always on the hunt for interesting discussions about art, and I feel like Neoteric has already had this one several times over.