Thursday, February 7, 2008

Rabble Rabble

Artforum picks up the patriot pole with an attempt at speaking about a night on the gallery circuit in New Spork, New York;

"To sing Barack Obama’s praises, Jerry Saltz was taking prisoners. “The Clintons just bring chaos,” he said at the Johns show, sounding more like Kenneth Starr than even Hilton Kramer. Saltz was surprised to hear I felt so torn between Obama and Hillary Clinton that I had joined the swollen ranks of the undecided. (Not my usual position.) He asked where I stood on Johns. Choosing to keep my powder dry, I related what had happened a few moments before, when I caught the seventy-seven-year-old artist smiling so broadly it prompted me to ask whether he had always enjoyed his openings this much. Not really, he responded, then reversed himself. “I like other people’s openings,” he joked. “But I probably enjoy my own a bit more.”

"[Jerry] Saltz compared Clinton to MoMA (the status quo) and Obama to the New Museum (the challenger). It makes me nervous to see art-world friends and colleagues speak of a politician in messianic terms. Still, it was heartening to see art critics and curators trade on their “celebrity,” as it were, to promote their candidate. The more people spoke up for Obama, the more I wanted to vote for Hillary just to keep the race going, to keep people talking and asking questions instead of sermonizing. Maybe painting never died, but the art of public discourse sure did. It has been nothing short of exciting to see it come back. It’s the exchange of ideas and values, not an individual candidate, that could really elevate the level of discussion."

Hills doesn't have a plan for the arts ('cuz she's a looser) but B does!

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