Mike’s World
Today I took a trip into Austin (on the bus again) and revisited the exhibit at the Blanton Musuem ” Mike’s World” as ‘Mike’ was giving a gallery talk on his show. Still not sure what I truly feel about this show. Its is a 100% better than any other video installation that I have seen, which hasn’t many because they are so artsy fartsy. So to say its a 100% better isn’t an endorsement.
Gordon hated what he saw of it, not ironic enough he says. To me it was trying too hard to be something and no quite getting there, so I suppose I am in some sort of agreement with him but I can’t say I hated it.
It was meant to show the trials and tribulations of a man aspiring to be someone he isn’t but despite trying very hard, failing to actually achieve or understand the world he was aspiring to be in. However a lot of it just came over as the intellectual world stamping on the ordinary man, deriding his (fictional) life. Given that I am not intellectual in the slightest, see the world as very much black and white, it almost seem like a slur on my life and other people like me. I try hard to get into the ‘art’ speak of professional art (by that I mean people like Damien Hirst, Carl Andre) but end up just feeling inferior.
Art school was a nightmare for me in that respect because I knew very little art history and even less about the art world of the 70’s. Little has changed in the 30 yrs since I started art school, I know a little more art history but about as much about the current art establishment. I have tried. Read ‘Modern Painters’, Art Forum, Art Review, AN magazine and since moving here, Art in America. Art Review use to be an easy read but is now all art speak, Modern Painters has always been art speak and AN magazine was waaaay over my head in art speak.
Anyway that is my little rant over and back to the Blanton. After the talk by Mike Smith, I went upstairs to see Durer prints they currently have on show. A 100 of them! Wow, they just blew my mind…is that art speak? Unfortunately an afternoon just cannot absorb such mastery so I will be back but I doubt I will visit Mike’s world again.
Tags: art, Austin, Blanton, Durer, installation, Mike's World, Museum
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