prairie bison

I ran into a bison last week on the La Chua trail, which runs through Paynes Prairie. The encounter was shocking! I never expected this giant, majestic thing to get so close. Lucky to at least have my camera phone to catch this. 

I bet Albert Bierstadt was in similar awe when he painted these guys.

Art? a nod to Duchamp

I recently discovered what appeared to be a casualty of night before at my neighbors’ house: a 9 iron golf club wedged into the living room wall. This is absolutely no surprise to me. Acts of senseless destruction after 3 AM seem to be routine around there. Another recent discovery: an electric piano smashed to bits on the front porch. Somebody’s got anger issues. I’m not going to name names because that’s not point of this post. I’ll get to that next. 

Above said golf club, written in permanent sharpie by the perpetrator (who considers himself an artist), is the simple question: ART? Is this Art with a capital “A”? Is this the result of a pre-meditated performance or the result of pure unmediated emotion, later labeled as art? I’m leaning towards the latter, but the ideas surrounding this are at the center of modern art theory starting with Duchamp. Everyone knows Duchamp as the French artist who signed a urinal, titled it Fountain and put it on display in a gallery. With his readymades, he posed the question “how can one make works of art that are not “of art”?’ He had a sense of humor about this, breaking the rules of artistic tradition. Here’s his Bicycle Wheel, 1913.

The legacy of Duchamp is everywhere. Many contemporary artists use pre fab items in their work while still challenging the same notions that Duchamp did 100 years ago. These notions may not be as pervasive, since it’s much less of a shock to see a found object used as art nowadays. Ok, nevermind. Some can be just as shocking. Here’s a list of some of some of my favorites that have adopted the use of the pre made.
The Young British Artists of the 90’s. Their poster child Damien Hirst’s piece The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living was the first of a series he did placing animals is formaldehyde.

Tracy Emin, Everyone I Have Ever Slept Wish, 1995

Haim Steinbach, Global Proportions, 2007

Robert Rauschenberg's Monogram

Sarah Lucas, Idealized Smoker's Chest No. 2, 1999

Lisa Mei Lin Fong

John Baldessari

As for the 9 iron club in wall, yes, I do think it's Art. It's given a new life and meaning on display stuck in that wall by someone who calls themself an artsit. You can bet there's been plenty of questions from people who stop by. Usually a moment of confusion, a "what the?", or "why?" followed by silly guesses. That moment makes it Art. Duchamp would be proud.