Jackals of the Art World

Arts Administration
or The corporate infiltration and subjugation of freedom of expression

The capitalist-sponsored shift from artist/maker-curated shows to the development of professional curators ignorant of all aspects of art beyond speculative market value has brought about this particular predicament you rightly attribute to a gallery/institution-centric art market. Between oppressive (implicit or explicit) ownership of critical media and the inherent censorship of privatized museum committees, one cannot but despair at such an all-consuming groupthink atmosphere. Our post-industrial shift into the hypercapitalist economy of “knowledge” commodities has resulted in the same art market bubble that the world is suffering from in the realm of real estate. Gallery and museum-fronted hedge funds shall suffer a similar fall.

Meanwhile, the question of recognition and a new establishment must be met with an understanding of the current power structure and the structure of previous social revolutions seen in the era of the poststructuralists. The DIY movement will soon meet some of the requisite instructional/educational criteria. Until co-opted, censored or suppressed, it is precisely these DIY tools of liberation that must be reshaped under a new criteria. Aligning with the trends to unplug, go green and self-sufficient, the art community must reach out with high and even low-tech solutions for navigating and directly communicating with the masses or at least the dying middle class. The political right wing forged a path of success with manipulative tactics of direct mail, spam, blog sites, phone banks, thinktanks and “leadership” programs. We already have blogs, websites, magazines and workshops. What we lack is organization and uniting principles that would come with thinktank fellows.

Re: Thinktanks- A major aspect that seems underplayed in the discussion is art criticism. If no personality or clash of personalities are screaming no one will pay attention. Any press is good press. Noone is talking about any controversial makers, but the Van Gogh and CopBusters makes the local news. Until we can establish more Glen R. Brown, Richard Sennett, Glenn Adamson… there is not enough drama or discussion to demand coverage. Icons make news better than

Re: Leadership Programs – What we have arrived at for training the future curator has become a rotating corporate door training the future CEO/Art Speculator, obviating the necessity of field experience and real knowledge. Arts management produces product Art, concretizing the loose structures imposed by the holistic eye of an art historian and industrializing the maker into the Widget factory worker. Without the monetary reinforcement of public funding innovation slows to a crawl and forces the repetition of historical movements while a wizened avant-garde wastes away among McWaifs.

The question of audience appears central. The elite desire control, the almost elite demand prestige, and the masses demand entertainment and the illusion of status.

How can we reach out from the inherent elitism of educational institutions to a demographic that’s been groomed to be anti-intellectual?

How far do we resort to sensation and commodified subcultures to attract the public?

The unprecedented reach of an online community may facilitate the beginning but a game plan must reach beyond the virtual. Alternative media (YouTube, Democracy Now, LinkTV, Indymedia) offer a unique opportunity to reach a receptive demographic.

As much as I feel that the gallery system stands as the central pillar of the institutional suppression of creativity; I feel we must also examine the hyper-specialization and hierarchical status of Art Education and Arts Administration and accord them their due role in the current debacle.