Not quite Appeeling..
What is art? I’m going to save you time and energy on this question… it’s whatever.. well nowadays it’s whatever. That’s my definition. Some peoples definition is a little more condescending like, it’s whateverS got the most hype at the moment, or anything that’s worthy of a gallery or museum. I’m going to give you MY exact definition of art, and although some might disagree, this is my standard.
“Art is the Purposeful expression of Human Creative Skill or imagination that makes the audience Feel Something”
A couple of weeks ago Art Basel happened. For those of you who are students of art, you know what Art Basel is and what it has become. For those of you who don’t know, Art Basel is a For-Profit Privately owned and managed International Art Fair staged annually in Switzerland, Miami, and Hong Kong. It started in the 70s as a way to debut emerging artists and current artists all in one place. Lately it’s become coachella without the music and ferris wheel blowjobs… note to self, ferris wheel blowjob performance art? Have I ever been to Art Basel? Sadly no, but if I did, it wouldn’t be to party. What a lot of people don’t realize is that the next Picasso might be exhibiting there. To witness the beginning of a mega artist would be my dream, to BE that artist is my goal. I’ve experiences first hand what it feels like to be an artist with an exhibit full of people who weren’t there for the art and it fuckin blows, but I digress. Anyway the purpose of this blog isn’t for me to hate on the uncultured again, its to talk about “Comedian”.
Mauricio Cattelan exhibited what most people would say was the most viral piece in Art Basel this year…But why? Is it outrageous? Controversial? It wasn’t really talked about until one simple thing happened… SOMEONE bought it for $150K. The second that happened the news spread like wildfire around the festival, and of course social media went apeshit over this (no pun intended). A couple of people asked my opinion about this piece. Do you think it’s art? Well going back to my definition of art, yes it is. Do I like it? No I don’t. When I first heard about it I said “ It better be a troll cuz otherwise this is just real shitty”. When I found out who the artist was I then knew it was for sure a troll. The banana wasn’t the art, the art was making people think it was more than just a banana taped to a wall. This wouldn’t be the first piece Cattelan made people go crazy for. In 2016 he exhibited “America”, a solid 18k gold toilet of which was installed in a bathroom in the Guggenheim Museum. People lined up for hours to literally shit in this toilet. This toilet recently made headlines again while being exhibited in the UK at Blenheim Palace, where Winston Churchill was born. Its become big news not because people were cutting in line to drop deuces in it again but because some Oceans Eleven type mf stole the entire toilet right from under everyone with no trace. ART at its finest.
So in conclusion, art is whatever moves you. Whether it reminds you of a touching moment of your life, motivates you to put your drink down and take a selfie with it, or simply encourages you to steal it… it’s art. Now whether its good or not that’s the more complicated question. I have a homework assignment for you. I want you to look at any piece of art you might own in your home or office and ask yourself “why did I put this up?”. Cuz it goes with my furniture, because I like it, because it’s cool, because it fits my style… these are all things that should be written on a bat used to beat these people with. If you’re going to put a piece up let it be a representation of the skeletons in your closet. I wanna figure out the true you based on your walls, and on that note I will leave you with a piece I have up in MY office.
