Just dug this up out of the vault for a friend, and thought I’d post it here…

A sculpture, erected June 1982, measuring 70 feet long by 20 feet high, had been moved by The Ohio State University and dismissed by the public. A vessel of loyal Vikings storms the campus to “reclaim its ground and bring honor to David Black, the creator.” (2003)

Camera Crew: Mindy McDaniels, Fernando Orellana, Jason Cho
Editing and Production: Jason Cho
Driver: Jonathan Danger Tepperman
Flag Wielder: Jesus Salvador De La Rosa
Shield Bearer: Philip Brou
Erik the Red: Chip Kohrman
Project Conceived by Philip Brou & Chip Kohrman

I have often found inspiration in limitations.  And, in this, beauty as well.  May we all have our limits.

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There are about 100 uncontacted tribes in the world… I didn’t know we could evade American Idol, let alone communication today!  But ongoing illegal deforestation is changing that for the tribe above, and the Brazilian government has been forced to prove that they exist because people don’t believe they do.  Maybe people are concerned that Mel Gibson sold scrap footage from Apocalypto… or that perhaps Brazil contracted out some handy Photoshop work.  A commenter on another blog says, “what are the odds that they too would invent bows and arrows? are we sure this isnt a hoax?“  Any doubts?  Look here and here.

Send in the helicopters and paparazzi

The two possible actions we can take are save them and leave them alone.  Regardless, we’ve already put a crack in their world view.  Now they’ll live in fear of the giant thunderous birds from the sky.  Politics aren’t my strong suit, but I’m pretty sure we don’t need to colonize…

If we save them, we can offer:

• Compound bows and fiberglass arrows
• Designer clothing
• Medicine
• Wi-Fi
• Credit cards

If we leave them alone, they can’t receive:

• Scholarships
• Social Networking opportunities
• Lead-based toys from China
• Economic Stimulus Checks

The benefits are mostly ours if we disturb them.  They would die from our diseases in exchange for a chapter in a textbook.  We need to compare the good we can offer versus bad we can cause.

The Allegory of the Cave

While playing out various disastrous scenarios in my head, Plato’s Allegory of the Cave drifted into my head, and I put myself in the tribe’s shoes (well, bare feet).  I felt terrified.  It’s easy to agree that the tribe’s world view should be protected.  But on the other hand, isn’t that the same as telling myself not to question anything, or that I don’t require change?

I wonder what various rights activists and humanitarians would say about these situations.  Imagine a tribe uninfluenced by the current world… what if women can’t vote?  What then?  Do we interfere just long enough for tribeswomen to get on the same playing field, or is it better to allow the inequality?  What if this tribe were discovered in the United States?

My lingering question: When will someone discover me in my cave?  And will I raise my arrow their way?

“I Have a Dream” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“The more efficient a force is, the more silent and the more subtle it is.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi, who influences King’s non-violent resistance, advises us to “aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed.” Non-violent resistance is frustrating and difficult, but consider how fake equality’s cause would appear led with a banner of violence. Now granted, people do listen to pain. Hitler was violent. He chose violent words to match violent actions. And because his words and actions were in “harmony,” Hitler was able to motivate his henchmen effectively for a time. Thankfully, hate and fear have an expiration date. King’s peaceful actions are efficient and effective. They are long-lasting. Start with a good purpose, then look for good words to match.

Words With Purpose Have Staying Power

The Green Bay Packers’ Brett Favre had a dream this year, but they lost last night’s game to the New York Giants, and Super Bowl XLII is gone from their future. The words “green bay” briefly reached the top ten search terms list on Google, but that quickly dropped with fans’ hopes for big, bulky, championship rings. But even when a purpose like “win the Super Bowl” fails, the strongest parts of the purpose linger. The Packers may have lost, but search terms for “green bay bikini girls” still make it into the top ten searches (hmm… visual aides have nothing to do with that)! When we select words for our purposes, we need to pick the resilient ones. Resilient words are usually related to the group of people your purpose effects.

King’s words are resilient… even more than “green bay bikini girls.” Long after his 1968 assassination, he still inspires us with his words and his purpose. Google’s number one search term today, “martin luther king jr. day”, beat terms like “gossip report” and “drunken stepfather” beyond 4pm. Equality is a work in progress. Yes, and hopefully drunken stepfathers too.

When words like, “I have a dream,” become cultural mortar, those words are here to stay. Thank you for your words, Dr. King.

Josh Spero, writer for Guardian Unlimited, feels he’s missing out on something with religious art.  “It’s just gold leaf and too many halos,” Spero says.  He feels that being an atheist has excluded him from understanding its meaning.  Spero’s stuck on appearance and can’t move beyond that.  So I wonder, can we bridge the gap between non-belief and religious works of art?

  Spero says:

“Matteo di Giovanni’s Assumption of the Virgin altarpiece (1474) is a pious fiesta of angels dancing around the Virgin against a blinding gold background… There is nothing technically wrong with these paintings but they fail to stir anything within me… If a religious person approached di Giovanni’s altarpiece in its original position in Asciano’s church, they might see this painting shimmering under dusty rays, glowing with the Virgin’s aura of holiness. It would be awe-inspiring in the old-fashioned sense.” (Spero)

I don’t live in the 1400’s.  And I’m not standing in front of Giovanni’s Assumption.  What’s more, I’m Christian, so I could be painting my own assumption here, but I think that we can at least attempt to understand our differences.  Spero falls short.  He wonders if he can experience the meaning of religious works of art (which seems to short-change atheists’ abilities), but that’s where he stops.  Spero can have the same experience a Christian can have with the Assumption, but it requires more than wondering about it.  Just like Hindi, Buddhist, Muslim, or Jewish works of art can inspire me… but I would have to do my part because the work wasn’t created with me in mind.  However, we do share human experiences: pain, happiness, anger, excitement, etc.  It may be easier for a religious person to connect with religious works of art, but the simple fact is that we are all people.  And common ground exists among the gaps.

So postpone the disbelief.  Put yourself in Giovanni’s place.  “Come on in boys, the water’s fine!” (Delmar, Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?)

Spero’s post and the comments that follow are worth a read: Guardian Unlimited: Arts blog – art: I cannot see the divine in religious art (January 11, 2008)

Kluth’s methods of art-making and art-curating may be unconventional, but there is a need for marmalade.  Citrus preserves can only improve the art world.  What art does the community want?

Cultural critic, Dave Hickey, told the Frieze Art Fair last October that real value isn’t being created in the art world because undeserving art is overpriced.  When crates arrive, gallerists make up astronomical prices and send invoices to the next people on the waiting list.  Hickey fears gallerists are unwilling to risk money and reputations, and instead, trash an opportunity to support the art-making that will be important centuries later.  Hickey believes the rules for developing value have disappeared.

“You had artists who worked in their studios.  The artists who worked in their studios took their work to galleries.  The art galleries sold this work to members of the community.  When a community had purchased a critical mass of this work, it was presumed that if most of the community bought a critical mass of this work that work had some sort of public virtue and you had a show at a museum.  So that what we’re dealing with for most of the twentieth century is a transformation of objects of delectation into icons of public significance.” (Hickey)

Dave Hickey says the value of art is created this way:

1. Artists create works of art.
2. Artists take their works of art to galleries.
3. Galleries show the works of art.
4. People in the community purchase the works of art.
5. Museums notice that people purchase the works of art, and they hold an exhibition.

And as a result of the community valuing the works of art, prices modestly increase.

Hickey continues to say:

“Now, one of the interesting things about this process of going from the artist to the dealer to the community to the museum is that the museum shows did not depend upon the professionalism of the staff.  They depended on the collective taste and wishes and desires of the community.  So when you were looking at the Frank Stella show you were thinking, ‘what is it about these that turns on bond salesmen?’.  You know, you have things to think about.” (Hickey)

I agree with Hickey that community-validated art-making is crucial for art to have any “public significance.”  Without the community, art can still have significance, but it remains mainly institutional.  Hickey mopes about the state of the art world, but if you can get beyond that, he shares some beautiful ideas with us.  Does the community want the art that is being created today?  How can artists know what the community wants?  If “valuable” creativity comes from community influence, does the same reasoning apply to all creative acts?  Or do you feel creativity is an isolated activity?

You can download an mp3 of Hickey’s lecture here:

“Custodians of Culture: Schoolyard Art: Playing Fair Without the Referee” (October 29, 2007)

If you’re interested, Edward Winkleman’s blog has some more quotes transcribed from Hickey’s lecture.

NOTE 2/4/2010: The Open Space Gallery has closed to make way for a gas station.  FJKluth Art Gallery has opened in its place.