Oooooo1 Tilda Swinton (whomever she is) did an impromptu “performance art” piece at the Museum of Modern Art! (Actually, she is an award winning actress, I am informed.)
Shock!
Tilda reclined in a glass box!
The modern art(sic) world is all atwitter!
(Here ends my overuse of the exclamation point.)
Modern art(sic) appears to be more about personalities than art.
If I had so reclined, I would have been arrested, but Ms. Swinton, who apparently is some sort of “actress” in a stage theater show (Moonrise Kingdom), well that makes it “art.”
It is almost self evident that the Mona Lisa would be a beautiful painting even if I had been the artist instead of da Vinci.
Scrawling lines, or paint on canvas by apes, or kindergarteners, becomes “art” because of the ape, or the kindergartner — not because it is beautiful, or has a message (tell me what message an ape’s — or a kindergartener’s brain could contain), but because of the hominoid, or child itself.
Yesterday I attended a “Jazz” concert at the local (and stunningly fantastic) Lexus dealership, performed by some “jazz ensemble” from a local junior college whose professor (a terrific jazz musician), I know.
Understanding that music, like everything else is very personal, I purposely arrived late at the Lexus Cyber Cafe — a place I frequent — so I could turn around if the music did not suit my taste. I roamed among the stunning cars, listening to the jazz trio for some tune or anything resembling “music.” It was undiscoverable.
I then entered the rear of the cafe to see if anyone was there. A few, literally a handful, whom I judged to be the friends and close family of the “musicians.”
The music was similar to delivering the instruments into the hands of the aforementioned hominoid or kindergarten hands. Discordant.
The only art in the building, was the building itself, and of course the cars – including a Lexus LFA, a 200+ MPH road car, which is for sale at some astronomical number.
Now THAT is art!
As an engineer, I believe in standards, not personalities. (I think it is a guy thing ) I don’t care — and neither do any racing fans — whether Felipe Massa, Lewis Hamilton or even your elderly blogger, laps Malaysia track in 1:39 minutes — or whether it is in a Ferrari, Lotus or a Ford Focus.
Anyone, male, female or transgender who can hit .330 for a season in baseball has a job.
Now it may be unfair to judge the aforementioned jazz group on one piece, like walking into a symphony while they perform Stravinsky’s Rites of Spring. Still, you don’t get a second chance for a first impression, which is why the Lexus dealership itself is so visibly spectacular. And, I am certain that the dealership wants to attract a younger crowd. Certainly the Cyber Cafe has that potential, but it missed the mark in their first jazz endeavor.
But then what do I know? “In matters of taste, there can be no dispute.”
I just know what I like, and, as I tell my real estate clients who wonder why their absolutely stunning home doesn’t sell — “when you drive the freeway, note how few cars are the same make, model, color and year of the car you drive.”
In real estate, we know that a home must meet the center of the bell-shaped curve to be easily salable. If your home “features” concrete floors, painted black, it is going to be more difficult to sell.” A verifiable truth.
We all have different taste, but lying prone in a glass case is just dumb to my taste. It seems like a New York thing, and they can keep it. Tilda has said that she will do this “performance art” several more times this year, unannounced, and the art world is all giddy.
How would you like to be married to someone who finds that sort of thing exciting?
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