Art Whirled

THIS BEGINS WITH ART BLABBER, so if ya wanna skip it..just scroll down to the YELLOW


So, as you may or may not know, I am currently studying at the Phillips Collection, a small, little museums in DC, but also, the first national Modern Art museum in the nation *(thats what makes us sound fancy...we're not)

As I have been here for a few weeks, I have begun to understand and really see that Art Community at first hand, seeing the people who shape and define what is happening in the little community that is Art in the US. (I would say Art in America but that is the name of a pretty big magazine so...in the US it is). Well, its really interesting to see these people, meet them, and hear them speak. Needless to say, what I am finding is that people talk smart. Jibber jabber laden with with words that I usually need context to understand, conjugations of verbs that I had always thought were nouns, and such. Now, I have always spoken alright, hell, I did host a radio show, but I was never a "speaker" and definitely not one that sounded extremely intelligent.

My struggle has become to figure out whether all this fancy talk means something or whether it is simply pretentious. Really the same goes for modern Art itself. I hear many an arugument of the artist as enlightened one, leader of the people, dreamer of the people, and to me, well, the artist should be expressor of the people, speaker for the people. Works should express something, not nothing. Works to be some real, and if not beautiful, at least emotional and powerful. I am not a Romanticist, I do not need blatancy, but I still need, emotions! Feelings! Ideas! Visual Stimulation!

Needless to say, I struggle with accepting Jackson Pollack as my personal savior.

Here's the deal:
We read a famous little article called Avante Garde and Kitcsh, by Clement Greenberg, and it pretty much argued that high art should maintain this on-high power, above the masses of the people, and that Kitsch is the Normal Rockwell approach that is for, well, 'everyone else.' Now, this was written quite a while ago, and its ideas have since been attacked and bombarded with arguements...but the idea still lingers in my head.

Is art an eltist thing? Inaccesable and illegible? Is it no longer meant for everyone, but only for the few and powerful?

If so, well, it goes against everything I believe.

Being at the National Gallery the week that Barack Obama was sworn in meant that there were A LOT of people from out of town visiting a museum they had never seen. Seeing these families enter the modern wings and explore things that were supposedly 'too difficult' for them to understand was frustrating. Art is to be shared, and spread, and loved, amongst all, and it bothers me to think that some Art Theorists are such elitist jerks.

Anyways...sorry, about my little art rant. ...........................................

Living in Dc as a young adult, and studying here, I have begun to explore the town. I have seen Adams Morgan a great area where I literally at the best falafels in the world. No joke. You visit, I will take you there. There is a block of Adams Morgan FILLED with small restaurants from everywhere, Peru to Pakistan, France to Vietnam. Its incredible. I want to go to all of them...but I don't want to get fat...hrm..or poor...so I probably never will.

DC is a city of government, all the black peacoats, suits and ties, and shiny loafers seems to march into the area where I live only to leave at the end of the day. Needless to say, the nightlife on the Hill is not so great.

Dupont Circle, where my little darling Phillips is located, seems to be a bookstore area. Coffee shops, a few museums, every embassy one could dream of, and bookstores. Its an interesting little place, always bustling with cars, foreign people.

Today, I am going to U Street, the area which is famed for its Ethiopian cuisine, its night life and its overall artsy vibe. Busboys and Poets is a DC Institutions, with spoken word nights, poetry slams, artist readings, coffee and sandwiches. Its main location is in the heart of the U Street neighborhood, along with what seems to be a diverse crowd of neighbors. I will write about my experiences in my next post.

Until then,
Love you all
Miss you all
Me

Post Script:
I forgot to mention, yesterday was the anniversary of Roe V Wade which brought out huge masses of people to the capital, carrying big pro life signs and very bloody vulgar images of aborted things.. Its was brutal and offensive.

All the people with me were as disgusted and offended by the images and actions of these people as I was. Some groups of pre-teens came down to protest almost as a vacation, and I cannot understand why these kids were being used to protest something I am sure they do not understand. Needless to say, the entire day, I was angry and frustrated with these people, howver, I said nothing because they wanted to agitate me and I would not let them.

How can we not just accept the actions of others although they contradict our own life ideals? Acceptance people, is the only way we can all get along, and teaching hate in such an anti-WOMAN way is upsetting for me.