art trashed

Difficult territory is a cornerstone of the visual arts – so artist Mikala Dwyer knew it would be confronting last night when she invited Balletlab dancers to empty their bowels as part of a performance at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art.

The two-hour act saw the six dancers, masked but naked beneath sheer garments, move around a room in the gallery before sitting on transparent stools and performing – only if they were moved to do so – what is usually one of our most private and rarely discussed daily acts.
 

As a practising artist I take umbrage at the assumption that art has to confront/repel/alienate/disgust. That idea is very, very new in the history of art and is the product of philosophical rather than artistic motivations. A large part of the blame must fall squarely on the establishments 'artist of the 20th Century' Marcel Duchamp; a post modern artist/philosopher before his time and an aesthetic cancer.

The above sort of trash art serves to alienate more and more reasonable people in the 'real' world while feeding into the unfortunate politics of philistinism vs. elitism which inhabits the 'artworld', where the 'emperors clothes' myth holds centre stage. Just read The Painted Word by Tom Wolfe to grab a handle on that reality.

In keeping with our litigationary society I am tempted to sue someone, after all I have been severely insulted and my profession has been traduced by some talentless hack living on government handouts? Oh yes, I forget...I am a white, baby boomer male who paints in a traditional mode...sorry I am one of Western society's new untouchables and therefore unable to sue, complain, or even expect sympathy from the chattering classes who run the arts and media.
In fact if I dared to even speak out publicly on such a thing I would probably end up in jail.
In our case there is no such thing as 'good' publicity.