November 5th, 2009 / 6:34 pm
Snippets
Snippets
Ken Baumann—
‘If it moves you to attentiveness, it is art. If it doesn’t, it’s something else.’
-from an excellent interview with Milton Glaser, just one of many
hm, i like the second sentence. but there are things besides art that move me to attentiveness.
hm, i like the second sentence. but there are things besides art that move me to attentiveness.
I mean, it’s just another one of those “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” statements.
I mean, it’s just another one of those “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” statements.
I just watched the interview, his take is a more nuanced than I gave it credit for — either way, I think you are taking the term “art” too narrowly. I think he means (or, I want him to mean) that only objects/events that move you to attentiveness are art — these not necessarily being the same thing we colloquially refer to as art.
I just watched the interview, his take is a more nuanced than I gave it credit for — either way, I think you are taking the term “art” too narrowly. I think he means (or, I want him to mean) that only objects/events that move you to attentiveness are art — these not necessarily being the same thing we colloquially refer to as art.
twix is definitely art
twix is definitely art
“Is that art” is an incoherent question. It doesn’t make any sense. Art is context. If I toss a balled up tissue in the trash, it is refuse. If I frame it and hang it on a wall, it is art. The question that makes sense is: “is that good art?”
“Is that art” is an incoherent question. It doesn’t make any sense. Art is context. If I toss a balled up tissue in the trash, it is refuse. If I frame it and hang it on a wall, it is art. The question that makes sense is: “is that good art?”
art for me, NONE FOR YOU
art for me, NONE FOR YOU
maybe. but making value judgments is tricky. i think the most interesting questions are ‘why is this art’ or ‘how is this art’ or ‘what does this art accomplish’.
maybe. but making value judgments is tricky. i think the most interesting questions are ‘why is this art’ or ‘how is this art’ or ‘what does this art accomplish’.
I always knew free-basing was art. And they kept telling me to stop!
I always knew free-basing was art. And they kept telling me to stop!
The key distinction that he seems to be drawing is that between attention and attentiveness, right? That is, status and money might draw our attention, but attentiveness is something deeper, more long-lasting, more contemplative? Like a bird shitting on your head is going to grab your immediate attention, but you’ll move on almost immediately, and it’s not art, whereas reading a story about a bird shitting on someone’s head might drive us to contemplate randomness and happenstance and why bird shit is white and our commonalities and differences with other species and thus might create a more sustained form of attention. Kind of a cool distinction, though I’m not sure it ultimately holds up. Maybe art is the best shuttle from attention to attentiveness, though, as it explicitly invites the latter by framing, accentuating, and contextualizing experiences that would otherwise be ephemeral…
The key distinction that he seems to be drawing is that between attention and attentiveness, right? That is, status and money might draw our attention, but attentiveness is something deeper, more long-lasting, more contemplative? Like a bird shitting on your head is going to grab your immediate attention, but you’ll move on almost immediately, and it’s not art, whereas reading a story about a bird shitting on someone’s head might drive us to contemplate randomness and happenstance and why bird shit is white and our commonalities and differences with other species and thus might create a more sustained form of attention. Kind of a cool distinction, though I’m not sure it ultimately holds up. Maybe art is the best shuttle from attention to attentiveness, though, as it explicitly invites the latter by framing, accentuating, and contextualizing experiences that would otherwise be ephemeral…
I can find art boring/unengaging – I’m not that into pre 19th century stuff (not THAT into it). It’s easy for me to ignore (i.e. “not be attentive to”). Conversely, what would Kenny Goldsmith say (I almost typed “day”) to that?
I think the first point I’m trying to make is that what is art and what is good art are two different questions; the second being that it’s a pretty vague qualification to begin with.
I can find art boring/unengaging – I’m not that into pre 19th century stuff (not THAT into it). It’s easy for me to ignore (i.e. “not be attentive to”). Conversely, what would Kenny Goldsmith say (I almost typed “day”) to that?
I think the first point I’m trying to make is that what is art and what is good art are two different questions; the second being that it’s a pretty vague qualification to begin with.
Boring.
Boring.
I think that is true.
I think that is true.