ExperimentialSocioCommentaryExposurement
As I just turned 29 a few days back, I managed to suddenly remember an old project I wanted to take on. It's a bit of an odd one, a mix of social experiment, art project, and my usual swarmy nature of messing with people. Many of you guys are artists. I dig y'all's stuff, and know you are not of the "pretentious art fag" variety. That makes me very happy. Unfortunately, I've met a whooooole lot of those types. The stuffy coffee sipper that spews out mindless drivel on the true depth and meaning on not only their work (which is acceptable and ok, it is your own work), but on other people's as well. I don't like people that project their own mental vomit on others, especially when it's not wanted or requested. Hell people like that actually drove Jennifer out of the School of the Art Institute in Chi Town. Not the cheesy ones that pop up in major metro areas, the real deal art school with a freaking museum attached to it. When I do my art shebang, I do it for the fun of it, to get that idea out of my head.
Here is my idea. I want to create a fake persona that specializes in abstract art and using all those fun words and dribble that a lot of art fags apply to their work. Now I am NOT saying abstract is not a viable art form. I love abstract art and trying to derive just how the artist got his title, or meaning, or whatever to it. I've even got some old abstract pieces floating around somewhere in my folks garage, unless they've tossed them (which is quite possible). The thing is, the ar-teest, Gerard Pepedew, will have "works" consisting of utter crap such as me taking my fist, putting paint on it and punching a canvas, and calling it "Sunrise on the mountain top" or something. I will back up the title with some long, flowery hullabaloo to give it depth and meaning. Basically, I'm going to fake it for all I'm worth.
Why would I do such a thing? It goes back to some art classes I took back in high school. One year in particular, we had a supreme art snob of a teacher. One of the assignments was to take a short story she gave you, about a paragraph or two tops, and turn it into an abstract comic strip. I'm not sure what she was thinking, but I was able to take it and run with it. A friend of mine however, very sweet girl, had a thing for painting kittens, could not handle this. Abstract wasn't her thing, and having to wrap it around a story just caused her to go into total meltdown. This assignment was around 40% of our grade to boot, so she was freaking hard. She tried to explain this to the teacher, and her brilliant response "Hmph, if you cannot handle ZIS, you are not a TRUE ARTEEST! get out of my sight."
So in the end, I ended up throwing together some crap to convey the story of a lifetime smoking father lying in his deathbed for her. It involved a green squiggle, a circle going from white to some unholy shade that can be vaguely concieved as brown, and I think I had a square in there, can't recall really. The art was crap I admit, but I was able to fake and bake some serious meaning behind the symbology. My own work consisted of a pleasent drive through the valley with two kids. If I remember right the painting had two tetrahedrons in a pastel field, and I was messing around with some..."things" back then, so I shoved a hot wheels car through the canvas. The teacher actually loved it, and even funnier, the thing I threw together for my friend? Highest grade in the class.
Ok so I've tangented quite a bit, but in the end I want to make some works, some might be real, most will be faked BS, and toss them up on like, Deviant Art or something. I'm curious to see if it will build a following, if I will here the same trite, condescending and cookie cutter commentary I've heard from various art snobs over the years, and possibly in time, will people actually BUY the stuff.
If I do it remains to be seen, but I was always amused by the idea, and dangit I'm not getting any younger here.
Here is my idea. I want to create a fake persona that specializes in abstract art and using all those fun words and dribble that a lot of art fags apply to their work. Now I am NOT saying abstract is not a viable art form. I love abstract art and trying to derive just how the artist got his title, or meaning, or whatever to it. I've even got some old abstract pieces floating around somewhere in my folks garage, unless they've tossed them (which is quite possible). The thing is, the ar-teest, Gerard Pepedew, will have "works" consisting of utter crap such as me taking my fist, putting paint on it and punching a canvas, and calling it "Sunrise on the mountain top" or something. I will back up the title with some long, flowery hullabaloo to give it depth and meaning. Basically, I'm going to fake it for all I'm worth.
Why would I do such a thing? It goes back to some art classes I took back in high school. One year in particular, we had a supreme art snob of a teacher. One of the assignments was to take a short story she gave you, about a paragraph or two tops, and turn it into an abstract comic strip. I'm not sure what she was thinking, but I was able to take it and run with it. A friend of mine however, very sweet girl, had a thing for painting kittens, could not handle this. Abstract wasn't her thing, and having to wrap it around a story just caused her to go into total meltdown. This assignment was around 40% of our grade to boot, so she was freaking hard. She tried to explain this to the teacher, and her brilliant response "Hmph, if you cannot handle ZIS, you are not a TRUE ARTEEST! get out of my sight."
So in the end, I ended up throwing together some crap to convey the story of a lifetime smoking father lying in his deathbed for her. It involved a green squiggle, a circle going from white to some unholy shade that can be vaguely concieved as brown, and I think I had a square in there, can't recall really. The art was crap I admit, but I was able to fake and bake some serious meaning behind the symbology. My own work consisted of a pleasent drive through the valley with two kids. If I remember right the painting had two tetrahedrons in a pastel field, and I was messing around with some..."things" back then, so I shoved a hot wheels car through the canvas. The teacher actually loved it, and even funnier, the thing I threw together for my friend? Highest grade in the class.
Ok so I've tangented quite a bit, but in the end I want to make some works, some might be real, most will be faked BS, and toss them up on like, Deviant Art or something. I'm curious to see if it will build a following, if I will here the same trite, condescending and cookie cutter commentary I've heard from various art snobs over the years, and possibly in time, will people actually BUY the stuff.
If I do it remains to be seen, but I was always amused by the idea, and dangit I'm not getting any younger here.