This interview with YAMS and Ben Davis on Artnet about the Whitney Biennial is probably one of the most important things to read if you are an American artist working right now. It is passionate, emotional and the most incisive commentary on the state of American Art. For those who would try to use terms such as passionate and emotion to down play or dismiss this in the name of diplomacy you will fail to be convincing. Passion and emotion are necessary qualities in underscoring a real, systemic social problem. It shows that one actually cares about what one is standing up for and is willing to be transgressive in the most direct way. It is in a sense, something we dont see often in our overly mediated world where speculation is just as good as facts. In a word it is clear, cystal clear. It is categorically different from taking a stance opportunistically while touting a calm rational demeanor, which is highly popular and highly ineffective in every way with exception of hedging ones bets. This interview and YAMS initial protest is something that should give us pause as we herald in the recent diversity initiatives at institutions such as MoMA. Yet, further it presents a challenge to those of us (black, white, human or whatever) who consider ourselves fairly sensitive, conscious, educated individuals to dig in and think to what extent we may or may not be feeding into or enabling the White Supremacist narratives pervasive in American society. If that seems too large a scope, perhaps just start with your bookshelf is it mostly populist or does it get particular? What is the range of concerns and representation with a given area such as art or culture? If by some tragic imaginary disaster your bookshelf was the only left to a future civilization to understand the art made in your life time would you score higher or lower than the Whitney Biennial? Is there room for a wider range of perspectives? news.artnet/art-world/the-yams-on-the-whitney-and-white-supremacy-30364#.U4kpMRnsXqN.facebook
Posted on: Mon, 02 Jun 2014 23:21:28 +0000
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