Why I Still Care About This Mess
Look, I’ve been around the art block a few times. Started at Art Forum back in ’98, moved to Creative Review in ’04, and now here I am writing for decoart.net. I’ve seen trends come and go, seen artists rise and fall, seen so much pretentious crap I could fill the Louvre. And yet, I still care. I still get excited when I see something real, something that makes me feel something.
Last Tuesday, I was at this tiny gallery in Brooklyn (let’s call it The Tiny Space because honestly, that’s what it was). There was this piece—just a bunch of old TVs stacked up, playing static. At first, I was like, “Really? Static?” But then I stood there, and I started seeing patterns. Faces. Memories. It was like the artist had taken something completely worthless and turned it into something… I don’t know, profound?
Which brings me to my point. Contemporary art is a mess. It’s a big, chaotic, beautiful, infuriating mess. And I love it. I love that it can be anything, anywhere, by anyone. But sometimes, it’s just too much. Too much of nothing. Too much of everything. Too much of… I don’t even know.
When Art Becomes a Joke
Okay, so there’s this guy, let’s call him Marcus. Marcus is an artist. Or at least, he thinks he is. He’s one of those guys who thinks just because he can throw paint at a canvas, he’s the next Picasso. I met him at a conference in Austin about three months ago. He told me about his latest “masterpiece”—a pile of garbage he’d collected from the street and put in a gallery. “It’s a statement about consumerism,” he said. I asked him, “A statement, or just a pile of trash?” He didn’t get the joke.
And that’s the thing. Art is supposed to make you think, make you feel, make you see the world differently. But when it’s just a pile of trash, or a bunch of TVs playing static, or a painting of a balloon animal (yes, I’ve seen that too), it’s hard not to roll your eyes. But here’s the kicker: sometimes, those things do make you think. Sometimes, they do make you feel. And that’s what keeps me coming back.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
I’m not gonna sit here and tell you that all contemporary art is good. Because it’s not. Some of it is just plain bad. And some of it is so ugly it’s hard to look at. But that’s the thing about art—it’s subjective. What I think is ugly, someone else might think is beautiful. What I think is trash, someone else might think is a masterpiece.
Take, for example, this piece I saw at a gallery in Chelsea. It was just a big, white canvas with a tiny, black dot in the middle. The artist called it “The Void”. I asked the curator, a woman named Dave (yes, Dave), what it meant. She told me it was about the emptiness of modern life. I told her it looked like a target. She didn’t laugh. But you know what? Maybe she was right. Maybe it was about the emptiness of modern life. Or maybe it was just a target.
And that’s the thing about contemporary art. It’s open to interpretation. It’s up to you to decide what it means. And that’s what makes it so fascinating. It’s like a big, artistic puzzle, and everyone’s trying to figure out the solution. But here’s the thing: there is no solution. There’s no right answer. And that’s what makes it so frustrating. And so wonderful.
Art and the Internet Age
Now, let’s talk about the internet. The internet has changed everything. It’s changed how we see art, how we make art, how we talk about art. And it’s changed how we trending topics popular discussions art. Remember when you had to go to a gallery to see a new piece? Remember when you had to buy a magazine to read about it? Those days are gone. Now, you can see anything, anytime, anywhere. And that’s both a good thing and a bad thing.
It’s a good thing because it means more people can see more art. It means artists can reach a wider audience. It means we can all learn more about art, about different styles, different techniques, different cultures. But it’s also a bad thing. Because it means there’s so much art out there, it’s hard to know what’s good and what’s not. It’s hard to know what’s worth your time and what’s just a waste of pixels.
And let’s not even get started on the whole NFT thing. I mean, really? Digital art that only exists because some computer says it does? It’s like the ultimate example of art’s messy, confusing, beautiful, infuriating nature. But again, that’s what makes it so fascinating. It’s always changing, always evolving, always surprising us.
A Personal Rant
Look, I’m not gonna pretend I have all the answers. I don’t. I’m just a guy who’s been around the art block a few times. I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. I’ve seen the amazing, the ridiculous, and the downright confusing. And I’ve seen the internet change everything. But you know what? I still love it. I still get excited when I see something new, something different, something that makes me think, “Wow, I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
And that’s what keeps me going. That’s what keeps me writing. That’s what keeps me coming back to this messy, wonderful, frustrating world of contemporary art. Because at the end of the day, it’s not about the money, or the fame, or the recognition. It’s about the art. It’s about the creation. It’s about the expression. And that’s something worth committmenting to.
So yeah, contemporary art is a mess. But it’s our mess. And I, for one, am gonna keep exploring it, keep writing about it, keep trying to understand it. Because it’s worth it. It’s worth the frustration, the confusion, the occasional eye-roll. Because every once in a while, you see something that makes it all worth it. And that’s a feeling I can’t quite describe. But I’m gonna keep trying.
About the Author
Sarah Johnson has been a senior editor at various art magazines for over 20 years. She’s seen it all, loved some of it, hated most of it, and is still trying to figure it all out. When she’s not writing about art, she’s probably complaining about it over coffee at the place on 5th.
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