Art in the Late 20th Century; Rambi or Tafkap?
My friend;
Knowing that true Art, (and I must make the distinction from "claimed" Art), is nothing more than any other kind of communication with the exception of its superior quality; and knowing that the 19th century compares to this end of the 20th, (here comes a metaphor, which I love to use), kinda like The Next Generation compares to Voyager, or scones compare to Diet Twinkies;
and knowing that the purpose of the Artist must, by definition, be to enhance and better civilize his or her surroundings, to offer a leap from the ridiculous to the sublime, and not to create evil for, or obfuscate the thought processes of, the non-artist;
I am wondering if I am the only person to see a potential situation with the following:
As I walked in the door from work this afternoon, I noticed my young son watching the Disney Channel. Upon the screen appeared the smiling countenance of T.A.F.K.A.P, (or, as he shall now and forever more be known to me, "Tafkap").
This humanoid said, (to a stuffed bear that could talk), that he "had no name", held up a record album cover with what appeared to be a rather Complex and Mystical Symbol on it, pointed to it, (so the bear would not mistake any of the droll yet ordinary surrounding objects for Complex and Mystical Symbols), and announced that he was, (and I quote), "The Artist Formerly Known As Prince."
Fellow Artists, here is a young fellow, (no argument with the music, I like "Little Red Corvette), who has, it appears, taken great pains, and used a vast quantity of his own time, to "create" a Complex and Mystical Symbol, which the stuffed bear was directed to understand as a cipher or physical mark which represented the actual humanoid, but then, in the next sentence, he informed the bear that instead of the Symbol that has no verbal meaning and no written meaning, he, (the humanoid), can be called "Tafkap".
What have we here, in actual physical reality? I submit that we, (or at least I, since you may not have seen it), have been exposed to The Revolutionary New Art. Claus Oldenburg? History. Andy Warhol? Woosie. Mark Rothko? Numbskull. Jackson Pollock? Dead and buried, my friends. That is the Old School. They were involved in physical realities that, by intention, had little or no significance. (We won't even get into Degas or Leonardo or Holbein or the Van Eyk brothers. It appears that they are now gray ash.)
Young Tafkap has concluded that in his personal case, we are not to use his Old Noise Connected to Significance in the English Language to, for example, call him on the telephone; but we are to now recognize that his new Complex and Mystical Symbol that Has No Verbal or Written Meaning is in fact a representation of himself; and further, that if we wish to refer to him, (once again, on the telephone for example), we need only refer to him by the Old Noise Connected to Significance in the English Language, as long as we understand that the Old Noise is old and useless now, and he will know that we are speaking to him, and not, for example, the couch.
Conclusions? Simple indeed. Work with me here for just a moment or two. Point to a car, (any car, it doesn't matter), and think of the word you use to describe it. Wrong! Old School. Take a few moments and draw a Mystical Symbol upon a piece of paper, (any paper, once again, it does not matter), make sure you draw deep from the vast resources of your own personality so the Mystical Symbol is completely unrecognizable. Now show it to all your friends. Explain to them that this is the Mystical Symbol that now represents your car. (Not the English word car, mind you, the metal thing in your driveway.) The New Symbol has no verbal significance, so you must also explain that should you see one of these objects bearing down upon the family dog, your friends may, if absolutely necessary, verbally refer to the object as "the object formerly known as my Car." You must also recognize that by the time all that thinking and planning gets done, your dog might be a spot in the road.
If we do this for every object in the physical universe, we can get a general idea of the potential here. And that doesn't include the noises we have for thoughts! I personally think young Tafkap should begin every single word that emerges from his mouth with the phrase, "The word formerly known as...(insert word here)", and see how many "fans" pony up dough for his newest release. And if I ever get the chance to meet him, I have my opening remarks prepared.
Art is not dead while Rambi lives. |
