Look a Robert Hughes and contemplate now

After a few lectures on 'What is the Avant-garde today' I have been left wondering what will be the next phase of thought. Robert Hughes said in his Shock of The New, a 70s A.H.T documentary; "I wont prognosticate as to what will be, because I don't know" ...



Video; Robert Hughes; What Art Is


...Oh Robbie, you and your casual seating arrangements and flowy fashion hair, Talk to me!....
I do think that generally; Conceptual Art is behaving elitist and discriminative, which belittles the essence of visual language. Communication with visual language, as any communication, is lost if the public cannot understand it. That idea is pretty accepted among many.

Yet that was quite a few years ago and still I find myself going to galleries and;


-seeing videos which challenge my patience- (something I have less of the faster everything becomes) -imagery which upsets me because of its vague gore or violence in paintings, (something I don't need to be reminded of),

-text within imagery which shouts profanities (which I can hear frequently enough when I go on the train to the fringes of the city)

-references to a history which is out of my hands but claims I am linked and should feel guilt,

-installations which are so grand I feel I should hold my breath from the sheer expense of the items before me


-Photography which is ambiguous to the point of no interest because you have to read a short novel to understand the artists motivation which often leaves me wishing I saved my time and kept walking...


The list continues...

(When will art express the uncommunicable emotions of living in the now!? Facebook memes do such a good job of it for minute aspects of the inanites in life, perhaps they ARE Todays art of the people and Facebook is the modern gallery that we are unaware of its impact because the items are not commodified and measurable, but communal and non physical.) 
 
meme origin link;

thanks to: http://memeblender.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/close-enough-meme-thriller-dance.png

Ok  back to topic (see, short attention span!)
These experiences aren’t bad or good. It’s important for the work that I feel the way I do when I see them, I need to feel insignificant/guilty/challenged, its part of the piece. But its also uncomfortable, and I wonder if I were to apply these experiences to something more everyday and average; shopping for example. If, by removing my education in art history would these experiences exist to be seen as "an experience" or just annoying. That if I was not comfortable it would affect how I interacted with the work/items for sale.

I walk into a clothing store, and being middleclass; working and studying, I have some money, but it has to be rationed. Taking into account my knowledge of fashion preferences and awareness of the glamour of expensive items, I walk into an expensive store to look for inspiration. But quickly the intimidation tactics associated with these stores are large doors, sparsely arranged items and many people on hand to 'assist'/ stare at you with confusing smiling glares. Does this sound familiar? Its so similar to conceptual art shows- the only thing that is further debasing in the latter example is the items themselves that are being evaluated are a mystery in themselves. At least in a glossy store you can understand the purpose of the glorious goods.


In an expensive store, and a conceptual gallery show; I am already uncomfortable because I feel out of my depth, not confident enough to allow myself to interpret the work with out reading the blurb, or to look at it enough to make judgement. Quickly I will leave unsatisfied.




But if I was to walk into a store that had staff that I could identify with, perhaps the ones working there are students themselves in my particular case, and with stock that I could afford/understand and furnishings that allowed me to feel safe from judgement, I would want to stay and interact with the goods.

If I had the money to make a gallery, I would provide couches, so people could really rest and see the work for a long time, I would have work that was primitive, about the essence of humans, universal in its language and simple for my colleagues who don’t want to feel insignificant, I would have music because the work would probably be so impulsive and emotionally driven it would aid rather than hinder the meaning. ...And everyone would wear nice sneakers- comfy and cool.



No more high art, high heels and high brows!
Not to say that emotional visceral responses aren’t worth high class, but if the art can’t communicate to everyone then its not very good at communicating is it? 
It’s far harder to make a universal language, visual or other, than to stay within the premade playpen of contemporary art.




I don’t want to prognosticate, but if this is what I want, there is probably someone out there who wants it too...







haha I love that word,

prognosticate