2002-01-20 - 12:10 p.m.
MASSOW WEB SITE V 'CONCEPT ART'
Before ICA Chairman Ivan Massow's controversial attack on 'concept art' in the New Statesman (21.1.02) was a piece dated 3 Jan outlining the same ideas on his web site. The text is reproduced below.
http://www.thebignewcompany.com/massow/
(log in, then go to Forum, Ivan's Choice)
I have been Chairman of the Institute of Contemporary Arts for about 3 years now, yet still I've never felt really comfortable speaking my mind about contemporary art for fear of being branded ignorant or just plain stupid. The art's world tends to do that to you. However, having observed the Turner Prize nominees at the weekend, I felt fired up (and not just at Madonna's attempt to upstage the prize she was there to award) and inspired to start a debate on the subject of so-called 'Concept Art'. I have set out some of my thoughts in the form of a questionnaire, with 20 questions (I did get a bit carried away). I would also very much welcome your comments as I believe strongly that art is something for everyone, not just the 'Arts Establishment'. I do hope you enjoy the questionnaire and I await your comments. Ivan Massow.
1. The almost exclusive promotion of concept art as contemporary art over any other form, renders the arts establishment guilty of conspiring to create the impression that 'concept' art is synonymous with 'contemporary' art.
2. Many talented young artists, clawing to be noticed for their craft, are forced to ditch their talent and reinvent themselves as creators of some video installation or a machine that produces foam in the middle of a room, in order to be recognised as contemporary artists.
3. The arts establishment is guilty of conspiring with big business. They continue to promote concept art ruthlessly to protect their investment and the intellectual currency they've invested. It would be impossible for them to react rationally to 'emperor's new clothes' allegations.
4. Rather than just forming an incredibly valuable and brilliant part of the broader contemporary scene, concept art has grown like a virus to become the dot.com of the art world.
5. Now firmly 'established', concept art is no longer promoted through reference to any criteria of aesthetics, originality or intellectua challenge, but through hype and disseminating a fear of 'missing out'.
6. Concept art is frequently 'craftless' and 'thin' in terms of talent (the criteria of traditional artistic skill and excellence being replaced by philosophical musings, the expression of psychological trauma, sociological comment and suchlike), and current trends seem to have lead to lesser artists emerging - as well as the artists becoming the art, rather than their work.
7. Most people are starting to acknowledge that something has to change, but rocking the status quo would present a formidable and intimidating task - there are the large collecting institutions to consider - from galleries starting with the Tate to big banks or insurance companies who buy and exhibit and dealers and galleries who don't dare rock the boat and want to protect their investments. Fighting them would mean taking on the 'establishment'.
8. Concept art has become a weirdly oxymoronic 'establishment': it is unsurprising that its stranglehold over the arts scene has spawned its own 'conspiracy theory'.
9. The arts elite and critics, who witnessed the Goldsmith's generation revolution, have invested so much of their reputations in defence of concept art that they find themselves unable to criticise it.
10. We now risk a situation where a new generation of art students go to college and aspire to become rich and famous like their idols Hirst and Emin and act like rock stars instead of aspiring to artistic excellence through a tangible medium. This is leading us into an artistic cul-de-sac?
11. A 'me-too', 'must-have' executive culture has emerged where ad execs and the like would rather buy a Tracy Emin print because their mates will recognise the name and, by doing so, they elevate themselves to 'someone who knows about art'.
12. People are afraid of being branded intellectual nonentities, and are just following the herd for safety.
13. The UK curatorial culture has become one of art curators jumping to the Serota and Saatchi song, again like sheep, to the detriment of everything else going on.
14. Those who speak out against concept art are seen as primarily 'not getting it' and secondly 'past it'.
15. It is now time to lead art towards a new direction, if not towards a new synthesis of 'concept' and 'traditional' art, then certainly towards a new debate.
16. British Art has gained a reputation for being cutting edge - largely thanks to concept art - but it could arguably be time for it to move on before it stagnates. Everyone, even Tony Blair, is jumping on the Brit-pop, Brit-art thang and waiting, like lemmings, to see what a handful of taste arbiters will say before they buy - while thousands of young artists wait in the wings.
17. Having made its point, broken the mould and, for a while, raced ahead of the international arts scene, the London arts world is now in danger of disappearing up its own back side?
18. In private, I sometimes think that examples of concept art can be pretentious, voyeuristic, self-indulgent, craftless tat that - if it was free - I wouldn't even accept as a gift. Some artists seem to believe that they are the art objects themselves, whilst others' aching images or stark portrayals of 'social realism' are often imaginary - middle-class over indulged so-called artists patronising real people with fake understanding.
19. Is it time for art lovers to communicate the message to artists that they're not obliged to re-invent themselves into creators of numbingly obtuse video installations, piles of crap, bubble machines and so on. Is it time to apportion status, recognition and a home for artists who have suffered for being out of vogue?
20. We, the arts establishment, should be leading British art towards a position where it can consolidate its advantage, build on its current position and lead the way towards the establishment of a new contemporary art movement. I accept that the art establishment reflects, not directs, but like all relationships, it is a complex one characterised by many factors - including supply and demand.
21. The Turner Prize, along with the genre it endorses, was shocking ten years ago but has become, if anything, rather dull.
