Functionalism Rejected: Shil Sengupta [17]

Shil Sengupta
Arlington, MA, USA

1. Functionalism Rejected: Traffic Light

The yellow paint that is functionally used to coat the traffic light in a sterile, unimaginative way turns against its own use by crying….the yellow paint turns against its own use and misuse

This is part of a three photograph series that is being submitted for this theme of the “Prostitution of Art” in which the sublime possibility of color and form is used toward purely sterile,functional, or economic ends. However, despite the color or form’s reification, its sadness becomes evident through its own subtle forms of resistance.

2. Functionalism Rejected: Detour Sign

White and orange were abruptly strewn onto a block into route incoming human traffic elsewhere with no regard for the possibility of these two colors. Yet, if one watches closely, one sees that these orange and white arrows begin to resemble sad, longing beings that are entrapped yet always in the process of escaping or at least resisting their functional misuse.

3. Functionalism Rejected: Entrapped Deity

In Mysore, India, there is a famed garden with various displays of water that are routed, spouted up toward the sky, and elsewhere in order to entertain the myriad tourists. In the midst of this bourgeois, commodified torture chamber of sorts, there is this out of place head of a deity which bares witness to the surrounding travesty. Its honest expression resists its own placement or displacement in this environment.

Art Party: Steve Dalachinsky [16]

Steve Dalachinsky
New York City, NY, USA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Dalachinsky

Art Party (specifically created for The Prostitution of Art blog).

Prostituition: Sky Fairchild-Waller + Jessica Thalmann [15]

DIALOGUE:

From: Sky Fairchild-Waller
Date: Tue, Aug 24, 2010 at 4:45 PM
Subject: Call for Proposals
To: j.ellis@mobius.org

Call for Proposals
The Prostitution of Art at Mobius
- - -

Prostituition
2010
Sky Fairchild-Waller + Jessica Thalmann

Prostituition is a sound and image/text-based installation that
engages with the application processes involved in pursuing graduate
study in the arts. Prompted by dire socio-economic conditions
inhibiting access to knowledge-based economies, the work emphasizes
the pursuit of education and how it can necessitate the acquisition of
capital in explicit and degrading ways.

http://skyfairchildwaller.com/artwork/1363819_Prostituition.html
(please make sure sound is on)





from Jane Wang
to Sky Fairchild-Waller
date Wed, Aug 25, 2010 at 3:16 PM
subject Prostitution of Art: Proposal

Dear Ms. Fairchild-Waller,

My apologies for the possible confusion about where to send the proposals. James Ellis Coleman and I looked over your proposal and realized that you probably meant to submit this for possible consideration in the The Prostitution of Art Exhibition (not Performances).

Thank you for your proposal. It's an interesting piece but it doesn't quite fit our call for works. Here is the call I believe you meant to send your proposal in to:
http://www.mobius.org/news/call-work-prostitution-art-exhibit-mobius
Please let me know if we were incorrect.

In addition, due to our technical limitations, if you were to present this piece at Mobius, you would literally have to send or bring all your own equipment to display the work/playback the audio/headphones etc. This is stated in the call for works although again my apologies, I should have added audio to this restriction as well - we don't have a way to set up isolated audio stations either:
"Please note that if you submit a video or film, you must provide the equipment to display your work."

As I understand it, your piece seems to be more about prostitution, the economy and education rather than art specifically. You are definitely on to something and I imagine you could tie in your piece to the real stories in the media both past and present about graduate and college students who literally prostitute themselves to pay their bills and films perhaps which cover that very topic, human trafficking and so on.

Would you like me to post your proposal and link on The Prostitution of Art Online Blog in any case? As outlined in the call for works, we said we would list, even the proposals for projects which we couldn't accept for the show but only with your expressed permission. And of course if you would like to add any further clarification regarding your work for the blog, I would post that as well (as well as any website links you'd like me to list). Perhaps it would provoke some discourse which would be terrific and perhaps I would be proved wrong in not accepting your proposal.

Thank you for sending your proposal in - it's a worthy topic and your installation sounds provocative. I'm sorry that it doesn't seem to fit this particular call for works and that we don't have the technical facilities to playback your piece.

Please let me know if you would like me to post your proposal and any other accompanying information you would like me to list (including website links and if you have links for Jessica Thalmann, I am more than happy to post those as well).

I do appreciate your taking the time to send in your proposal and wish you the best. If I see any calls for work at Mobius or elsewhere that would be a better match for your installation, I will forward you the
information.

Sincerely,
Jane Wang
The Mobius Artist Group

from Sky Fairchild-Waller
to Jane Wang
date Fri, Aug 27, 2010 at 10:48 PM
subject Re: Prostitution of Art: Proposal

Dear Jane,

Thank you so much for your email! I really appreciate the time you took to craft the response you did. It is unusual to have such attention paid to a submission, and so quickly! Thank you very much.

In regards to the submission, my apologies for sending it to the wrong location. Also, thank you for expressing your reasons for not accepting it.

Both Jessica and I would be extremely grateful if you were to post the work on your blog - that is very kind of you! If you were able to post the proposal text and the link to the audio work (
http://skyfairchildwaller.com/artwork/1363819_Prostituition.html) as well as the images I attached in the submission email, that would be wonderful! Also, including my website (www.skyfairchildwaller.com) and Jessica's (www.jessicathalmann.com) would be equally wonderful!

Again, thank you so much for offering to include us in your online presence, and for passing on any calls which may be more suitable for the work. Your generosity and support mean more than you know.

Take care and talk soon,
sfw


Sky Fairchild-Waller + Jessica Thalmann
Toronto, Ontario
Sky Fairchild-Waller: www.skyfairchildwaller.com
Jessica Thalmann: www.jessicathalmann.com

5 Collages - Steve Dalachinsky [14]

Steve Dalachinsky
New York City, NY, USA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Dalachinsky

POAv2 - Liz Roncka [13]

POAv2
Liz Roncka
Cambridge, MA, USA
http://www.mobius.org/user/29
http://dailydanceproject.blogspot.com/

2 Poems - Steve Dalachinsky [12]

starfuck

1.
a   cross   fron/tier               taped
whooooosh   crackllllelelele  thud
schwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
                          list  en  er  evoke    end message
bones           face    skullll        peel center
      where  hair has gone      terrorfirma list’ner
                    be a / ware & grasp  be / ware(s)
  chatter   in             space     in    sphere      in cog  ni  to
                  space  & cog       niiiiiissssseence

2.
i   feel   so   separate  (d)   from my name
love  (r)  unrecognized
starfucking & confused
to become that which one fucks
hence end up fked & fucking one  (‘s)  self

so separated from my name
where is the n @ the end of  eve  /  (n)  ?
even now is it
& wonder where
began


glissandos – the music of cecil taylor (for Lydia)

bobs his head
up & down
sadly happy
(that was) about as gentle as
mayakovsky
when he put the gun
to his head
(sadly happy)
a caution light
he flung himself around like poetry
how gentle is gentle
subtle restrained 1 dimensional
a workhorse
ploughing himself into a hole
like the threads of mayakovsky’s shirt
like his gills
like mayakovsky’s head
supported by the music
smashed and bobbing
her head
bobbing to the music
like mayakovsky &
disappointment
like culture
like revolutions
forlorn lovers
smashed skull
like mayakovsky .


Steve Dalachinsky
New York City, NY, USA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Dalachinsky

Lawrence Charles Miller [11]

Lawrence Charles Miller
Newport, PA/New York City, NY, USA

Ria Vanden Eynde [9]

Ria Vanden Eynde
Leuven, Belgium
http://painting2cancers.blogspot.com/

Ulla Gmeiner [8]

Ulla Gmeiner
Bonn, Germany
Malerei, Grafik und Objektkunst
http://telaire.blogspot.com/

the office of introversion

Scott Rummler [7]

Scott Rummler
Brooklyn, NY, USA
scottrummler.com/art.html

Art Prostitution Index

Art has not longer a social meaning. - Damien Olsen [6]

Art stopped having a social meaning after the death of Basquiat, whatever happened since the day after his dead to our days is what we all know as inertia.

Of course the consequences of the early inertia where provided of equal quality as the ones previous to Basquiat, but it is not quality what counts here since we are taking about social meaning not quality; i mean social meaning as "the importance of being an artist".

Designers are excluded of this discrimination, designers create functional objects and they profit more or less fast or faster that the lonely soul who's trying to paint or sculpt or compose a useless masterpiece. And even if we do momentarily profit, there's no much more social meaning in it than going to the park to feed the pigeons.

Since success became more and more an accidental event than a reward for your merits
or skills also the quality of the artworks and music declined to the lowest levels and also the disappearance and forgetfulness of famous artists during or since early 90s; when the last famous visual artist was Damien Hirst.

Or do you dare to remember any other famous artist name this days?

Don't even try because there's no any left. Curators and gallerists were and maybe they are trying to be famous or celebrants of themselves promoting artists on line but for some reason the name of the curator or the gallerist/art dealer will shine first. We also have a fest of art consumers, ex artists, connoisseurs, collectors or wannabes that please themselves in "not getting it". Not getting it is a safe position. This very peculiar reaction to art of "not getting it" today is mainly an expression of denial to protect their senses from a mental/cultural collapse. ( The Freudian "fantasy of the end of the world"). Because even the charming decadent aesthetics of the post modernism in the early and middle 90s reflected this "if"; while on one hand were a signal of the apocalypse of art as social phenomenon it was also a loose link enjoyable by the snobs and the avantgardists. On the other hand was a hybrid aesthetic itself. also enjoyable by Sunday museums and gallery visitors.

Today's standards put equal values either on the enjoyable "don't get it" as well as the "smile of understanding" both vacuous fields of celebration of the death of art. The Music revolution last scream and legacy is definitely most of the soundworks or musics produced by the British Record labels 4AD and em:t ; but of course this besides being mainly a matter of opinion, has not value as a treasure or cultural relic; unless until now; with the exception of a few crazy souls that are trying to make it a treasure at paying over 300 dollars in ebay for certain em:t cds.

Time will tell. . .

Damien Olsen
August 4, 2010

Brooklyn, NY, USA
http://damienolsenelectronica.com/
http://www.redbubble.com/people/Olsen
http://damienolsenartindustries.blogspot.com/


Copied and reproduced here from a post published August 4, 2010 on Damien Olsen's blog: http://damienolsenartindustries.blogspot.com/ with the express permission of the artist. His original post was published before "The Prostitution of Art" call and online blog.

Kathleen McHugh [5]

Kathleen McHugh
Seattle, WA, USA
mchughart.net

"You Can't Judge An Artist By Her Whorish Qualities" - Valerie MacEwan [4]

Valerie MacEwan
Washington, NC, USA
http://www.assemblagist.com
http://www.deadmule.com

"You Can't Judge An Artist By Her Whorish Qualities"

Banksy Chinatown Boston Part 1 - Media Lounge [3]

Banksy Boston Chinatown Part 1 from Greg Shea on Vimeo.

Media Lounge
Boston, MA, USA
http://www.vimeo.com/gregshea

Prologue - Gary A. Bibb [2]

The Prostitution of Art (which could also be stated as the commoditization of aesthetic intimacy between artist and audience) is a complex issue; due in part to a subjective and divergent definition of art, along with a lack of consensus about art’s societal function. There is nothing inherently wrong with making a living from selling one’s art; however, the degrading aspect is when an artist compromises craftsmanship and/or artistic integrity in exchange for personal gain; i.e. wealth, fame, etc. I have been told numerous times during my 40 plus years as an artist that it is easy to remain virtuous and idealistic when you’re not facing starvation. To which I reply, “The lack of commercial success has tested my commitment and challenged my fundamental concepts about art; and yet, I continue to believe some endeavors have an inherent, transcendent value which makes them worthy of personal abnegation (sacrifice, self-denial).”

If an artist does not strive for excellence, nor attempt to communicate a message which awakens or edifies, then the result is usually fad or fashion and little more. I sometimes use the analogy of comparing greeting card sentiments with literature when helping people understand art. Greeting cards usually have a maudlin expression which may be adequately crafted, but they are rarely challenging or transformative. Similarly, a majority of the population in our culture desires a quick, shallow artistic experience that entertains rather than edifies (not that entertainment and edification are necessarily incongruent). This general trend of superficiality presents a challenge (and an opportunity) to the artist; one that requires our interaction with the public in a manner which clearly espouses the benefits and virtues of art. If our culture is to experience an aesthetic (re)awakening, artists must realize their responsibility and embrace the role of exemplar/advocate.

Our rich artistic heritage has been fostered by those who took risks and sacrificed much to refine their skills, explore new territories and express profound concepts. It isn’t their cleverness, inventiveness or notoriety alone which merits our adoration; they also exhibited discipline and life-long dedication to their artistic values. The question remains: Are we up to the challenge of building upon their legacy or will we allow art to become impotent – with minimal impact and marginal relevancy? As artists, we should be compelled to honor our ascendants by continuing to infuse art with vitality, pursue conceptual clarity and strive for excellence; all while expanding our artistic boundaries.

Perhaps the Prostitution of Art is as much about compromising the virtues of art as it is the selling-out for monetary gain.

Gary A. Bibb - USA
August 2010

Face1: Artist Statement - Liz Roncka [1]

Face1: Artist Statement
Liz Roncka
Cambridge, MA, USA
http://www.mobius.org/user/29
http://dailydanceproject.blogspot.com/