Just another pretentious artist

So New York magazine has an article this week about the scion of an uber-wealthy old money New York family, downtown artist Dash Snow, who's claim to fame (besides his family) is exhibiting old newspaper articles covered with his semen, which are sold at galleries for $90k. This article is breathlessly entitled "Chasing Artist and Downtown Legend Dash Snow" and the rest of it sticks to pretentious form. Besides the fact that this article validates something that everyone already knows- that the entire art world is a hype machine built on nothing but bs (see my upcoming post on MOMA)- it also demonstrates how the media is instrumental in creating and feeding the bs.

Now before I go any further, I realize that a lot of my recent posts have presented a kind of jaded, negative tone. I would like to say that I apologize and don't mean to come across that way, I'm actually quite happy with many parts of my life- I'm excited about a lot of the projects I'm undertaking, I've just had great sex with my gf, my stock portfolio is at an all-time high, and I've also just gobbled up the most delicious tasting cheese cake. I promise to try to make the next post a little more upbeat.

That being said, I still feel it is my duty to address this "downtown legend", whose notoriety derives from putting his semen up on walls. If it is all a big prank, I have to say it's on par with the stuff Borat would do. However, as the above article reveals, these people (and the sycophants who surround them) take themselves way too seriously, which makes the whole thing abysmally pathetic and depressing. This reminds of the time, probably a few years ago, that I realized that all the photographers I had once admired, like Andres Serrano, Richard Kern, Cindy Sherman, and Nan Goldin were all hacks. Now that was really depressing. Kind of like realizing as a kid that Santa doesn't really exist. The only ones who I liked who I still think are masters are Jan Saudek and Floria Sigismondi.

Bottom line, the hype around certain artists, and in general the entire climate of the art-industry as such as it is only proves that to succeed as an artist, you must be good at the following things in the following exact proper sequence:

1. Marketing
2. More Marketing
3. Even more marketing
4. Concept
5. Technical skill/ability

Notice technical skill and ability comes last. I would like anyone to prove me wrong.

Reminds me of a cinematography instructor I had who was relating some things from the past in his career. He told us there was a dp who was absolutely awful, terrible, had no skill, taste or ability, just the absolute worst cinematographer anyone had ever worked with. However, none of his clients knew any better and couldn't tell the difference. Also, interestingly enough, everyone who knew him wanted to work for him and be associated with his crew, even though they were much more gifted than him. Someone asked why that was. The instructor looked at the questioner as if it was the dumbest question in the world and said "Because the guy got work." He was a great salesperson and knew how to network his way into work. Technical and cinematographic skill had nothing to do with it.