Morley vs. the art world: Round 2
April 1, 2012 3:44 PM
Almost 20 years after his fight with the contemporary art world, Morley Safer jumps back into fray. Is it possible to change his mind this time?
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I hear frequently that our country and the values it espouses are in a state of decline. We identify a national government that has become so polarized that it is unable to deal with the issues at hand...issues that if addressed could help reverse this slide. I see pragmatic approaches to problem solving challenged by ideology...where the search for and discovery of solutions are stymied by those who bring to the tables of discussion preconceived answers...claiming they know the absolute objective truth in advance. Thus, we face a political conundrum, where those parties charged to do the business of government are unable to reach compromise to address and solve the issues that are in the nation's interest.
When and how did this circumstance begin? Some point to the recent entry of ideology as an approach to government occurring at the turn of this century with the emergence of a "born-again" presidential mentality that fostered preconceived "gut" feelings (i.e. preemptive war) as the means for executive decision making; perhaps. However, I see the roots of this enigma going deeper...much deeper, at least half a century in time deeper. Fifty years ago our national cultural appreciations began a dramatic shift. We went culturally from accepting a pragmatic approach to one immersed in ideology...where those who create "art" believed that they possessed the absolute object truth and are endowed by the intellect of their free will to preconceive their creations. Thus, we introduced a national postmodern cultural conundrum long before we arrived at our current political one. It was prophetic...that once society's cultural judgment turned to ideology as the true pathway to human creativity that some fifty years hence the business of government would invariably follow suit. (Ironically, in both these conundrum arenas it is but one percent of society that exerts influence and control.)
As an artist and a research analyst I have spent the last three years examining the theory behind postmodernism to unravel its cultural conundrum and prove it to be fiction. If only we can learn from the mistake of our cultural delusion, perhaps the new knowledge we garner can be applied to disprove the intrinsic worth of political ideology as well.
My report can be read on the NEW YORK ARTS MAGAZINE's web site at:
http://www.nyartsmagazine.com/catalogue-2011/the-paper-collagist-george-sakkal
GEORGE SAKKAL