I agree that the author is angry that she is subjected to mediocre artists, and yes, she might be one. There may be some self-hate going on here. However, I feel that her beef might be with the market that supports mediocre art. In fact, she might even be upset with the market that supports her own. She might feel like a phony. I feel that there is truth to this, and unfortunately, although suck-it-up or bootstraps isn't a solution (which the author here might prefer), there is something dishonest going on on the other side too. And yes, Quillette (which ran this piece) just might have the same attention-grabbing goal by playing counterpoint. For my part, I am left wondering why there is so much shitty art, and suspect it has something to do with our market for opinions.That is why – in these modern ‘attention economy’ times – publishing houses insist on using identity politics to try to ‘move the merch’. And you read that right – intersectional feminism and mandated racial diversity are marketing and branding strategies, not politics.
What market supports mediocre art, exactly? Let's unpack what exactly we're looking at: So I’m at a modern art museum right now and it’s the biggest joke if i ever saw one. pic.twitter.com/qURrATBFuA — woke space convert (@hanmariams) August 10, 2018 This is a post by "young post neocon catholic medievalist" who (A) goes to Florida State University in Tallahassee (B) lists her URL as "catholicscomehome.com" (C) proceeds to say So. This is a college student in Florida hating on community art in Tallahassee so she can compare it to Boticelli's Madonna, which a self-publishing Australian figures is the right kind of hue and cry to illustrate how shitty art is now. Eyes on the prize, though - even ten years ago you'd have a really rough time finding out how much catholic college students hate on their local art scene, let alone use it as evidence of some pompous blog post. Where things go pear-shaped on this one is the dudgeon and moral authority put on by the author over the low bar to art... while using anti-doctrinal outrage at community outreach in a community two oceans away as an example. That's not a "market." "Market" is when you gripe about tax dollars being used to buy a Jeff Koons. Which certainly happens, pretty much every time Jeff Koons sells something. But the fact is, I can say "Jeff Koons" and I'll bet you either (a) immediately get an image in your head or (b) go google "jeff koons" and immediately go oh that guy. I'ma pull a zipcode out of my ass- 12344. Oops, that's Stockholm. Fine, let's use Maps anyway. ZOom in where it drops me. Drop street view at random. First thing I see - a tile mural. We're in a position where we can type random shit into the internet and within three clicks be looking at art in countries we've never been, that we'd normally have to walk up to in order to even notice. The shittiness has not gone up - the availability has. I consider that to be an unalloyed good.There are too many artists, too many people who want to be artists, most of them aren’t very good, and schools should focus on inculcating self-discipline rather than dopey ‘all must have prizes’ creativity.
since a lot of people are now seeing this, you might be thinking, well what is quality art? BOY LET ME TELL YOU--
For my part, I am left wondering why there is so much shitty art,