Figure A -1 The Collector (12" x 24")
Figure A-2 The Critic (12" x 24")
Figure A-3 The Curator (12" x 24"
“No one really needs a painting” is from collector and mega-dealer Larry Gagosian. “I hated it” paraphrases Robert Ebert, and the curator’s text is from a rejection letter.
Artworld Gatekeepers
With “Surplus School,” I transform military gear & images into a sincere pastiche of contemporary art. “Artworld Gatekeepers” is a salute to Barbara Kruger’s montages as follows:
1. Barbara Kruger focuses on the concept of Power. Similarly, I look at the power of the artworld guards.
2. Kruger combines blunt text with images from advertising. I use snarky text combined with military images.
3. Kruger uses black-and-white and red contrast. I use military tones with red.
4. Kruger uses a uniform typeface (Futura Bold Italic). I also have a uniform typeface from an Army issued stencil set.
5. “Your Comfort is my Silence” depicts a man forbidding a woman from speaking. The “Artworld Gatekeepers” shows guards forbidding new artist from entering the artworld.
Barbara Kruger, (Your comfort is my silence), 1981
gelatin silver print
59 ¾ x 42 5/16 x 2 ⅝ inches (152 x 107 x 7 cm) framed, courtesy Glenstone Museum
The concept for Artworld Gatekeepers started with a Artsy.net article about Curators Kyung An and Jessica Cerasis's book "Who's Afraid of Contemporary Art." The excerpt from the book identifies "who decides what matters" as:
1. Super Curators who organize the most important global exhibitions.
2. Major Collectors who visit the super-curators' shows and are often as famous as the artist they collect.
3. Art Critics that affect the ways we see and understand art.