Some Questions - Brad Troemel
What are your opinions on the idea of the Internet as replacement for critique space? As replacement for museum or gallery? Jpeg as replacement for physical art object? Tumblr as replacement for curation?
I hope the internet ends the art market and the art market sponsored media's domination of discourse. Without an alternative model for distribution artists will continue to be understood and publicized according to their profitability. This is unhealthy because art is not a competition but a form of communication. Art has the potential to truly become governed by anarchy because, unlike economics or politics, it's inherently unnecessary. Every artist should be a radical or an idealist. Art is a fantasy world anyway– why not treat it as a utopia? My utopia is a place where every artist is anonymous and the idea of buying art seems quaint. In this utopia people will treat art as an evolving conversation, responding to one another and suggesting new ideas whenever they feel like it. Objects won't be necessary because they would only slow down the rate of the conversation. Images and other forms of digital communication will be the only methods rapid enough to keep pace. Identity-based creation and image-brands will be a thing of the past because they are a product art's reliance on capitalism– a reliance that, in this utopia, will also be a thing of the past. Museums, galleries and other places may continue to exist as alternate forms of presentation but it is already impossible for them to keep up with what is most contemporary. Viewers will no longer be required to rely on bureaucratic organizations to tell them what art is good for them. The utopia I describe will exist very soon. Such a utopia may not end the art market, but it exist alongside it– a heaven available for those who wish to avoid the inefficiency and backwardness of the professionalized art world.
