Category Archives: Values

Citizenship, Values

write, and write back

Recently a fellow artist asked for advice on how to respond to an unfavorable blog post. I hope that in sensitive cases, upholding bloggers to journalistic procedures would benefit everyone—blogger, subject, and readers in the end.

A few weeks ago, This American Life aired Mike Daisey’s special on working conditions in Apple factories. It turns out Daisey’s story was largely fabricated. TAL just aired a retraction episode, which was fascinating because of its:

Integrity. Devoting a full episode to retraction must have been a difficult choice; less-embarrassing options would have been easier. Countless reasons—editorial schedules, marketing goals, funder mandates, political implications, etc.—would have provided easy justification not to act, to hope that it would all be forgotten by the next news cycle. However, TAL acted swiftly, decisively, and thoroughly to respond, be transparent, and report from multiple sides of the story. In doing so it demonstrated to me its journalistic integrity even in light of this mistake. It seems anachronistic to bring up this virtue, but I thought it was an honorable thing to do.

Analytic coolness. Host Ira Glass invited Mike Daisey back on the show to parse what was true or fabricated, and why Daisey would mislead listeners and TAL. Glass’ and TAL‘s reputations could be badly damaged by Daisey’s fabrications, yet Glass did not confront Daisy aggressively nor try to embarrass or discredit Daisey. He conducted the interview in a a cool, collected manner, simply trying to get to the truth.

So much news media has devolved into screechy punditry, while much media in general seems to contend with only reality-show-style self-dramatization. Fame trumps truth. For TAL to focus on substance, not style, on facts, not rhetoric, is refreshing.

It’s very inspiring because citizen journalism can take valuable cues from traditional journalism. In art writing, I would love to see further, deeper dialogues and conversations—letters to the editor or op-ed pages. Readers should respond to critics, and critics should write back in return. It needs to happen at a deeper, more thought-out level than endless troll-filled comments sections, or like/dislike Facebook buttons. Social media is not a substitute for long-form journalism.

For example, Art Practical only publishes reviews of exhibitions that will be open for at least one more weekend following publication; this is to allow readers to view the exhibition and form their own opinions. Furthermore, anyone is welcome to submit Shotgun Reviews. For any artists dissatisfied with the state of art criticism or particular reviews, I’d recommend taking advantage of outlets and opportunities like these to shape the critical discourse you would like to see. Media can seem hopelessly sensationalist, but there is hope yet.

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Values

In support of Enrique Chagoya

For the past week or so, protesters demonstrated outside of a civic museum in Loveland*, CO. They alleged that an image on exhibit is blasphemous. The print is by satirist Enrique Chagoya, a longtime Bay Area painter and printmaker, and a faculty member at Stanford University. His work concerns politics, religion, colonialism, and consumer culture. As KQED’s Spark artist profile program describes, “Chagoya uses his work to critique the manner in which history has traditionally been written by those nations that have dominated and colonized others.” He is well-respected in the Bay Area art community; I know an artist who applied to Stanford’s MFA program strictly for Chagoya’s tutelage.

Yesterday, the Denver Post reported that a woman entered the museum, broke the plexiglass protecting the work, and tore the artwork. (An art dealer named Mark Michaels claims that he stopped the perpetrator. If this is true, I’d applaud Michaels while reminding us of Philip Zimbardo’s message after testifying at the Abu Ghraib trials: there are no such thing as heroes, only normal people like you and me who listen to their conscience and act.)

Fear-mongering is so powerful in our current political climate, I’d hate to think that museums and curators would consider capitulating to right-wing conservative agendas. Protesting is fine. Censorship is not. Nor is self-censorship. There’s no point to having freedom if you’re afraid to exercise it (not least for fear of controversy or jeopardized funding).

Instead of only acting in times of protest, here’s a letter of support, sent to the Loveland Museum Gallery Director and Curator:

Dear Ms Ison and Ms Corey,

I am writing in support of the Loveland Museum Gallery’s decision exhibit Enrique Chagoya’s work of art, “The Misadventures of Romantic Cannibals.”

Enrique Chagoya’s work represents an important perspective deserving of inclusion in museum exhibitions. I do not want artists to pander to audiences or censor themselves to safe, inoffensive content. Neither do I want institutions to waver in their support of risk-taking artists.

I did not agree that the work merited protest—especially by the protestors who didn’t see it, as reports indicated—but I respected their decisions to exercise their freedom of speech. Optimistically, I saw the protest an opportunity to engage in dialogue about art, and about the artist’s intentions, which were in reaction to child abuse in the church.

This potential for dialogue is much different now that Kathleen Folden destroyed the artwork in a shocking and saddening incident. This act of censorship is unacceptable. I am in favor of prosecution to the full extent of the law.

In the face of this controversy, and in media scrutiny that is following, I hope the Loveland Museum/Gallery remains courageous and continues to serve diverse publics and respect the critical faculties of its audience. Those protestors represent one portion of the public; their fears and accusations ought not alter the Museum’s direction.

Sincerely,

Christine Wong Yap
Visual artist
New York, NY

CC: Stanford University Visual Art Department, Enrique Chagoya

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In response to my email, I received a warm reply from Susan Ison, Cultural Services Director from the City of Loveland. She thanked me for my words of support and said that they will continue to exhibit the seven other codexes by Chagoya.

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Values

Thank you for showing me what not to do

Ken, my printmaking professor, was great because he’d often demonstrate what not to do. Much of the time, he didn’t do it on purpose. In showing how to clean up an inkwell, for example, he might fumble a putty knife or splash the mineral spirits. But the gaffs were common, and it taught you how to recover when you invariably made the same mistakes. More importantly, Ken’s teaching was infused with kindness and good humor, and his unconventional ways were ultimately effective and valuable.

I am a big proponent of artists setting goals and identifying role models: Who do you look up to and why? Are they successful? Happy? Do they treat people around them well? Do they look like they’re having fun? Identifying and answering these questions for yourself helps to shape a vision for the kind of life in the arts that you want to lead.

On occasion, there are opportunities to identify negative traits and behaviors that you would not like to emulate. Perhaps these come courtesy of an unscrupulous colleague, who abuses the art field’s unsanctioned nature to claim a status that wasn’t actually gained. Or maybe a supervisor whose treatment of colleagues is unethical or morale-killing.

I choose to view the art world as a series of communities populated by bright, hard-working individuals who are in it because they appreciate art and want to share their enthusiasm. There are, unfortunately, unsavory individuals who would prove me wrong.

In the book “Why Smart Executives Fail,” Sydney Finkelstein, of Dartmouth, observes that “spectacularly unsuccessful” people (mere failure doesn’t qualify; you have to wreak havoc and ruin lives) have certain traits in common. These people see themselves and their companies as “dominating their environments.” They demand total allegiance and have the answer to every problem. (James Surowiecki, “Local Zeroes,” New Yorker, March 28, 2005)

These people are exceptional. It’s up to the rest of us to minimize the damage they do, and to defend the perception of artists, arts workers and the art field. We do that by upholding our values, and being vigilant, accountable, and optimistic.

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Values

What kind of art world would you want to participate in?

It can be easy to feel dis-empowered as an artist. You make your work and hope someone notices. You wait for a powerful gallery, curator or critic to make you a blue-chip artist so you can do biennials nonstop and live happily ever after.

But I don’t think it’s like that. Creative Capital‘s professional development workshop taught me that it’s better to focus my energy on my own agency: on the aspects of my art and life and career that I have power over. I learned that it’s possible and necessary for me to envision and shape an art world that I would like to participate in.

When I became a full-time freelancer, I gained a profound respect for professional practices. Two books were tremendously useful for shaping my principles: Marketing Without Advertising and the Graphic Arts Guild’s Pricing and Ethical Guidelines Handbook.

Professional practices are about people

Marketing Without Advertising, by Michael Phillips and Salli Rasberry (NOLO Press, Berkeley) is a handbook for small business owners and the self-employed to develop good reputations and encourage customers to recommend their businesses.

I appreciate its anti-advertising spirit, common sense advice and values-based principles:
–transparency (Chapter 6: Openness: The Basis of Trust), and
–respect in the workplace (Chapter 5: The Treatment of People Around You).

This is obvious, but it bears repeating:

The way you treat employees, suppliers and friends is an important element in gaining and keeping the trust of your customers…. One of the easiest ways for anyone to learn about your business is by talking to your employees. Because your employees’ lives are so intertwined with yours, and because affect them so directly, your treatment of them will almost automatically be communicated to their friends and family, even if inadvertently.

–Phillips & Rasberry, Marketing Without Advertising

The authors also identify common employee complaints, and how an open management style is better than developing important business policies in secrecy, resulting in the perception of arbitrariness of management and low morale.

Sometimes artists are given advice like, “You should be nice because you never know: the gallery intern you treated poorly a few years back might start their own gallery.” I agree with the principle — treat people decently — but not with the rationale — unabashed self-interest. What a travesty when people in the art world need to be reminded to treat people decently.

Agency through knowledge

The Graphic Arts Guild’s Pricing and Ethical Guidelines Handbook is a must-read for aspiring freelance illustrators or graphic designers. It provides an overview of current market rates, copyright issues, and how to create professional client relationships and fair working conditions. It also includes a useful series of contracts for services and licensing. Its basic principle is this: even though freelancers necessarily compete, it’s better for everyone — clients, freelancers and the industry as a whole — when freelancers operate professionally and have the agency to be treated fairly and create the conditions where our work is respected.

I wish there were a similar book for fine artists. [CARFAC is a great start.]

There are several books on professional practices for artists, but we rarely feel as though we are in positions to hold the institutions that we work with accountable. Few artists have the nerve to press the issue if a gallery refuses to use a contract, much less the leverage to collect debts punctually.

It’s been said that trying to organize an art show is like herding cats. The takeaway is that artists are too independent and flaky to organize. But you could say the same thing about freelancers, whose ranges of professional experiences and industries are equally disparate. The GAG doesn’t assume it will standardize the industry, nevertheless the Handbook provides landmarks for individuals navigating shifting seas and a bit of leverage in client negotiations.

A similar ethical guidelines handbook for artists would help individuals see the bigger picture. We’d feel more invested in the collective good of artists. We wouldn’t let our fear of being seen as temperamental stop us from advocating for being treated with respect and professionalism. We’d see ourselves as partners with agency, rather than lucky souls at the mercy of powerful institutions. We’d see developing these professional relationships not as acts of provocation, but as steps for setting up the conditions for shared successes.

Bargaining

There are, of course, options for collective bargaining. The art workers at the SFMOMA are represented by the Office & Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 3. Unfortunately, some arts institutions are more challenging to unionize than others. A lot of preparators are on-call temporary workers who haven’t got the benefits of salaried employment nor the pull of freelance wages to afford much leverage in when and where to work. (One alternative for itinerant preparators is to join the Freelancers Union, though the nascent organization focuses on insurance provision, and is largely based in New York.)

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Meta-Practice, Research, Values

Enthusiasms Unbounded, Mentality, Reviews

My Art Practice as Enthusiasms Unbounded

“Enthusiams unbounded” is neither grammatically correct nor concise, but it’s the best linguistic capsule for my sentiment: that many aspects of being an artist can be seen as exercises in honoring curiosity.

I love my life in art because I’m constantly learning new things; I made a decision to cultivate areas of knowledge and skill, and they’re accumulating more or less every day. When I look at it this way, art practice is even more satisfying.

I’m starting to think that being an artist means studio work, as well as enacting one’s enthusiasms at will, anytime and anywhere. To borrow examples from my own recent past, this manifests via browsing exhibition catalogs about shopping, learning how to use a nail gun (powered with air: brilliant!), getting over my fear of hand-held circular saws, and savoring donut shop typefaces. My enthusiasms fuel my art practice, so as an artist, it’s my job to follow them.

An Observation on Mentality

My friend Stephanie pointed out that longevity in art can often be attributed to sheer determination. In other words, success in art is partially a war of attrition (especially for women, as my friend Jenifer would add). Stephanie vowed to make art, no matter what. I want art in my life, but I need happiness too. And I think there’s a way to cultivate both:

I suspect that another secret to longevity in the arts is good morale, which requires (at least) two skills:

1. The ability to welcome and accept all forms of validation. I think it’s along the lines of being a connoisseur, not an addict, of the tangible evidence of success. That means blocking out mithering resentments or bitterness in light of any successes, and not letting hang-ups limit the extent of one’s satisfaction.

2. A high tolerance, or the quick ability to recover. May the stings of rejection fade quickly. May the forgettable exhibitions be soon forgotten. May petty resentments pass, along with all the reasons to be jaded about the art world.

The goal, it seems, is to make optimism and happiness “sticky,” and to let all the rest roll off your shoulder. Duckin’ and weavin’. Stick and move.

Enthusiasms, specifically

A cursory look-see of downtown galleries less than stunning, with two major exceptions:

Kim Anno at Patricia Sweetow Gallery

Kim Anno’s paintings on metal are pretty and formal — two things I’m not usually that wowed by. But I felt that feeling of worship that I think overcomes many art lovers when I looked at her paintings — my God, the light! The works are pure abstraction, with large expanses of white paint nestled by wisps of translucent color; they “read” quite simple and gestural and yet there are passages upon passages of textures, patterns, marks and contrasting surfaces. The whites revealed themselves to be rich in color as well. They’re works that continue to reward the act of looking. Expertly executed.

Bruce Connor at Gallery Paule Anglim

I first saw one of Bruce Connor’s miraculous black-and-white inkblot pattern drawings in Lawrence Rinder’s Galaxy at Berkeley Art Museum a few weeks ago, so it’s a treat to see more of them so soon. I absolutely adore them. There are several tiny ones on view, as well as a generous series of leaf-shaped inkblots and a few fuddy-duddy assemblages. The inkblots, though, are sublime. Completely abstract, moments of recognition appear and fade away, with a variety of textures, media and mark-making devices that result in an surprising magnitude of visual experiences — some lent the sensation of solarized photographic prints, others are clearly tactile acrylic, still others suggested small infinities. They strike a balance between meticulous compulsion and the fine art of knowing when to stop.

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Research, Values

CCA / Studio Masters

[A foreword: CCA: OK.
For some, the mere mention of the acronym “CCA” is met with the mental image of “trust fund babies.” I won’t deny that my alma mater projects an image and (deserved) reputation of wealth and privilege, but to assume that its students are all rich is terribly naive. Speaking for myself, I went to public school most of my life, and it sucked! That’s why I went to CCA’s high school summer program, which I paid for with an after-school job paying minimum wage ($4.75, no joke!). Plus, I will literally pay for my decision to attend CCA for years to come, so you can understand why it’s irritating to be confronted with the perception that CCA students are spoiled, rich or lazy. Besides, in my experience, more often than not, the faculty, staff and students at CCA work crazy hard and strive for excellence and experimentation. It’s a good school — that’s why I went there. And I’m also proud to be helping out with preparator work at the Wattis Institute for Contemporary Art, which brings the work of some of the most interesting international contemporary artists to the Bay Area. What’s more, my partner is teaching in CCA’s esteemed Graphic Design program. He’s a demanding instructor with lots of energy and real-world experience to offer. So if you have critiques of CCA to share with me, please let it be based on firsthand experience, because I’ve got loads.]

I’ve been enjoying Brindalyn Webster’s Studio Masters’ website. The recent CCA MFA conducted a multi-layered examination of her classmates, and it’s presented in this beautiful site featuring b/w photos, enigmatic phrases, and original two-minute compositions. It packages precise slivers of her classmates’ diverse practices, and while the cynic in me initially reacted to the grid of portraits with a desperate sense of radical opposition (the faces are so White, indeed!), the more I poked around the site, the more I became engrossed in the content — choice phrases and tangential abstractions through instrumentals and sound. Webster’s procedure is so specific and subjective that the context — her immediate CCA MFA class — becomes just background info. What’s more interesting to me is how Webster and her collaborator Alexander Chen created entirely new, coherent works out of ideas that are in development, a nice surprise ingrained in the experimental nature of an MFA course.

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Art & Development, Values

Criticism v. opinions

I really wish I was in NYC right now to see Charles Ray’s show at Matthew Marks. It sounds amazing.

I also appreciate Jerry Saltz’s write-up of Ray’s installations:

all brilliant examples of post-minimalist/conceptual sculpture, each created in the late eighties and new to New York, rattled my perceptions, jangled my faculties, and made me go “Wow!” … Ray’s sculptures, part of a long tradition of minimal installations, are also forerunners to much of the theatrical Festivalism of recent times (e.g., Maurizio Cattelan and Olafur Eliasson). Each piece is nearly invisible and formally economical. Yet each is outrageously labor-intensive….

–Jerry Saltz, “Dude, You’ve Gotta See This”, New York Magazine, June 7, 2009

Brilliant! I’m impressed with how concisely Saltz formally and historically situates the art, and conveys his viewing experience, enthusiasm and rationales.

And, I love that Saltz seems to be taking a stand. The public (including artists!) can harbor so much skepticism (if not outright antipathy) towards postmodern/minimalist/post-minimalist art, it’s nice to see a critic try to bridge the gap, and say, Yes, this is art, even if it looks like nearly nothing. And it’s hard work to make this kind of art.

He goes on to tell the viewer You have to look closely and think before you get your rewards.

All three of Ray’s pieces … are more than Merry Prankster sight gags. Each makes you ultra-aware of spaces outside the one you’re in, of rooms above and below you, the things that make these rooms and effects possible, and how your own body relates to all of this. They put you back in the realm of the unknown, of double vision and oddity.

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Unfortunately, my enthusiasm for great art and arts coverage is sometimes marred by readers’ comment boards.

It takes a lot of time, work, consideration and nerve to make art and to write art criticism. So when it’s met with knee-jerk reactions from people who are convinced they could do the job better, I’m reminded of drunken ringside smack-talkers. The reality is that few people have the heart to wake up for 6am runs, much less step into the ring–not just once for their fantasy Rocky moment, but again and again, in spite of the anxiety, exhaustion, injuries and the constant availability of easier paths in life.

Likewise, in art, anyone can make an expressive gesture, but few have the nerve to dedicate themselves to a lifelong creative pursuit.

And in art criticism, any yahoo can have an opinion, but few have the patience and skill to form thoughts into well-reasoned, timely essays.

Recently, I’ve heard from artists who believed that MFA programs are scams, grad students are mindless sheep, and if they leave with anything, it’s how to regurgitate trends. Attacking participants in order to critique a system is lazy and immature. I attribute this attitude to learned helplessness and inadequate self-actualization. When you see the art world as a separate entity from yourself–rather than a group of people that includes yourself, in which you participate and shape with your words and actions–you cease to be accountable for it. You’re free to bash it, thereby legitimizing your own disappointments.

As one of my esteemed professors liked to ask,

What’s at stake?

When it comes to offering knee-jerk reactions, I’d like to see more armchair critics toe the line. You think you can make better art? Write better criticism?

Game on.

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Art & Development, Values

Points of Reference

eclipse installation by Pavel Buchler
Pavel Büchler’ Eclipse at Max Wigram Gallery (London)
I love this simple but thoughtful installation.

Maureen Dowd recently remarked in the New York Times that Barack Obama’s election somehow signified that Americans are post-race. What a tremendously privileged point-of-view to take. Artist Kerry James Marshall doesn’t think we’re post-race, and neither do I. Cheers to SFMOMA for commissioning Marshall, and the two for pulling no punches.

I really appreciated Philip Tinari’s “OPENINGS: CHU YUN” in this month’s Artforum as well. It takes a lot of confidence — more than I’m naturally disposed of — to make works that are authentically minimal at the risk of seeming slight. As Tinari puts it, there’s

something subversive… about making works that were barely works.

Visit Chu Yun’s website. I really love the Constellation installation.

Paul Morrison’s exhibition at the Manchester Art Gallery is pretty good. I enjoyed the giant 75′ wide b/w hard-edged mural, which combines source images from 19th-century-style engraving and 20th-century cartoons (I think I saw some Smurfs’ flowers?). I don’t think the shifts in scale is as dark or menacing as the curatorial statement suggests, however. And while I appreciate the white-on-white high-relief picture of dandelions, which is reminiscent of Van Gogh’s sunflowers, I also found the white-gold-and-black-acrylic-on-canvas paintings to slip too easily into collectible luxury items. As I learn more about gold and how, like diamonds, its mining and refinement is inseparable from issues of colonialism, inequality and environmentalism, I can’t see how Morrison justifies his use of gold leaf. Terry Gross’ interview with Brook Larmer on “The Real Price of Gold” is elucidating (Fresh Air, January 8, 2009).

Tomorrow, there’ll be a march on Washington against the use of coal. Writing from Manchester — a city spawned by the Industrial Revolution, whose skies were literally blackened by coal smoke, but has since embraced everything green — coal seems like such a 19th-century phenomenon, and it’s hard to imagine that it’s still a necessity today. Stranger still is how the myth of “clean coal” can persist in America today, despite a relatively educated populous.

Podcast of Joseph Kosuth’s Meet the Artist lecture at the Hirshhorn Museum. I’ve found this podcast series extremely inconsistent, with some poor audio quality of in-gallery recordings. But Kosuth excells in providing a smart, well-prepared lecture about his work and Conceptual Art. Cheers for artists talking with precision about art!

The work of two Mancunian conceptually-oriented object-makers:
Nick Crowe
Ian Rawlinson
and their work as a collaborative team

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