Calin Dan on Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:30:55 +0200 (CEST)


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Re: <nettime> The Next Idea of the Artist - essay


While I agree with the stand point and argumentation of the essay (although 
I do not see any cynicism involved there), I wonder if the whole 
demonstration couldn't be nuanced further into a more complete picture of 
the present state of affairs.

Two things:
- a possible thread could be the artist as entrepreneur, a model centuries 
old that gained new speed in the context of the project-based cultural 
economy. It is a model familiar to me from the Low Countries mainly (the 
tattooed pig farm of Roy Villevoye in China paired with the CEO public face 
of the painter Luc Tuymans could be a funny collage of examples) , but I 
would be curious to hear how (and if) it mirrors elsewhere. Also, I would 
like to know more about how this entrepreneurial model fits the expectations 
of a society prone to "clean" creativity and safe culture.

- the music and film cultures in the USA have always been promotion 
platforms for characters with a troubled relation with the law into 
positions of status, fame and money, to an extent that cannot be compared 
tot the one in Europe, at least to my knowledge. The "gray zone" of hip hop 
and rap scenes is just the most recent example in a long history of  the 
mingling of singers, film actors, mobsters. Again, how does the need for a 
reliable, nine to five "creative" worker, match with the hemorrhage of 
rappers that deal in drugs (and sometimes get shot in the process), or with 
the mob figures playing hamletian movie characters (see more recently the 
infamous Sopranos)?

Is it the age old attraction for the outlaw? Or is it the taming through 
consuming? Kind of:: what can be eaten - culturally speaking - cannot eat 
you, thing? Or else?




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Damian Stewart" <damian@frey.co.nz>
To: <nettime-l@kein.org>
Sent: Sunday, September 21, 2008 5:53 PM
Subject: Re: <nettime> The Next Idea of the Artist - essay

> Rana Dasgupta wrote:
>
>> This is an essay I wrote for the catalogue of the Liverpool Biennial
>> (www.biennial.com), which begins this weekend.  It looks at the lives of
>
> thanks Rana,
>
> this was a great read, awesomely cynical. had me grinning in sad
> recognition a couple of times.
 <...>


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