Jumpsuits & Teleporters

Belief or Agnosticism in Art

Marcel Duchamp, Fountain, 1917.

Sarah Thornton came to Savannah this week for SCAD’s DeFINE Art program to speak about her book Seven Days in the Art World. Before taking the stage, she wore a sleek microphone-headset and either forgot or didn’t realize it was on when she burst into a cackle at the Dean of Fine Arts’ humored introduction. Needless to say, it broke the ice with the audience.

Her lecture presented research on the varying degrees of belief for contemporary art as you move through the art world. According to Thornton, the definition depends upon whether or not Duchamp’s urinal is considered to be art. It changes from person to person. As a sociologist, her perspective is that the art world is not a system but rather “squabbling subcultures.” The ideologies of each institution, therefore, shape the rules of the game.

Though the book was published in 2008, the material reflects seven days in 2006. Thornton since acknowledges a global acceleration in this elite world. Her latest research is a result of her afterthoughts specifically about artists and the art market. She’s interested in the artist’s personas and highlighting various taboos. For example, a quirky anecdote explains how she wandered Los Angeles asking the question, “What is an artist?” Apparently, the answer to this question is simple. But Thornton wants to investigate the margins of persona and authenticity, and what this means. So far she’s found that visits to an artist’s studio frequently produce rehearsed performances—every artist has a pitch.

As the chief art writer for The Economist, some new topics of interest include: globalization of the belief in art in the Middle East and India (or the political economy of art); border crossing in artwork and in practice (Francis Alÿs / Kehinde Wiley); mapping artistic personas such as Jeff Koons or Ai Weiwei (varying degrees of narcissism in artists); gendered authenticities (Laurie Simmons / Lorna Simpson); and activism and ambition (Kelly Poe / Christian Marclay). Interestingly, her definitions of these topics is very different than I perceive. I consider border crossing in disciplines such as art and science, whereas Thornton observes literal leaps across cultural and global divides. Another example is her use of the word ambition with Christian Marclay’s The Clock, which features an appropriation of time-telling in 24 hours from movie clips. I consider this obsession.

Jeff Koons’ Heaven series work.

A brief mention of Koons warrants the desire to know more, but she limits her information by saying he’s “one of the most slippery characters I’ve ever interviewed.” No surprise there. Switching slides to the image above, Thornton points out “dirty Jeff on top” and the obvious differences in muscular bulk from the photo to the sculpture. He evidently builds a platform for his work by acting mysterious. Whatever the act may be, I see Koons as a stock trader.

Does she consider herself a critic, historian, or a sociologist? First and foremost, a sociologist. She doesn’t write art reviews or talk about the work, but rather the people and what they’re interested in. Will her ethnographic archive ever be published? No, but the curious student is welcome to contact her. What is her interview process? Access is important. It’s all about getting people to feel comfortable. An offer of commonality loosens the atmosphere.

Finally, she ends by declaring contemporary art evokes two emotions: belief or agnosticism. Inspiration or anger. A final (and presumably cheesy) question: what makes a good artist? Thornton responds, “the one who doesn’t feel bitter.” And the lecture concludes.