Re: Postmodernism and "The Oracle"

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From: Sandy King (sanking@clemson.edu)
Date: 08/22/02-08:20:48 PM Z


Jon wrote:

>Arthur, Sandy and Co.,
>
>>> Somebody appears to be asking because you will find that works by
>>> many of these artists are collected by some of the most important
>>> museums in the country.
>Sandy King
>
>> Hi Sandy. Yes, I know this work trades at high prices, is
>> collected etc. But
>> that doesn't make it valuable, interesting or important, IMHO. I
>> think it's
>> simply part of the "academic" / art world process, eg, college
>> art/photography professors and historians have to find something to talk
>> about, or something to justify all the inferior work that comes out of
>> universities these days. Galleries need product to move, and a
>> rhetoric that
>> will wow the dentists. I think it's also part of an academic
>> scratch-my-back
>> scenario of promotion and self promotion. And if we go to first
>> principles,
>> most of the work in question is simply ugly. Yes, I know there's been an
>> "anti-quality" movement, an "anti-beauty" movement, a
>> "deconstruction" movement
>> and god knows how many other movements. But most of the work in
>> question
>> has already been forgotten, and the rest will follow sooner rather then
> > later. Arthur
>
>Well said Arthur - My tent is squarely pitched in your camp....
>
>Sandy, are you aware of an annual gathering called "The Oracle"?? It is a
>gathering of curators from most of the major museums concerning themselves
>with photography today. As I understand it, something on the order of a few
>dozen people attend each year for several days of communing.... It's held in
>a different - usually pretty agreeable - location each year - and it seems
>nothing if not chummy. Discussions apparently center around what's in and
>what's out photographically - as well as, no doubt, *who*....
>
>Now I don't want to seem cynical, but....
>
>Feel free to draw your own conclusions.
>
>Best - Jon
>www.jonathan-bailey.com
>Tenants Harbor, Maine

I have no interest in promoting the work of Prince, Sherman, et al.
My point was simply that someone is indeed asking about their work
since for whatever reason it has attracted a lot of attention and
debate. The original question was, as I recall, who is asking about
postmodernism? You are of course perfectly free to ignore such work,
and any and all ideas, or lack of ideas, that may underpin it.

Sandy King

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