Slog News & Arts

Line Out

Music & Nightlife

« That Was Fast | Dogs in Ink »

Thursday, December 21, 2006

On Being Mean-Spirited and Creepy

posted by on December 21 at 12:18 PM

This week, Dale Chihuly stopped suing people over copyright issues. He dropped the remaining suit he hadn’t already dropped. This prompted Regina Hackett of the P-I to write an account of the suits and the press coverage of Chihuly in the past year on her blog.

Naturally, she reported that her writings in the P-I about Chihuly—the ones that set him as a brother to Jeff Koons and Andy Warhol—are the only ones that made any sense. What I’ve written has been “mean-spirited” and “eccentric.” (I guess it’s eccentric even to consider the questions of ownership and creation raised by a copyright lawsuit — an explicit assertion of ownership and creation — especially in light of the art world’s current unquestioning approval of artist studios as thoroughly corporate structures, replete with romantic-celebrity CEOs, regardless of whether these structures are in philosophical keeping with what the art they produce purports to represent. Not to mention the class issues Chihuly’s work raises … but I digress, and I sure as hell am not going to digress into Daleworld any more this year.)

Clearly, Hackett and I are of very different minds about the conceptual underpinnings—or lack thereof—of Chihuly’s work. Hey, that’s what critics are for.

But there are two things you’re still doing, Regina, that are really pissing me off. One, you’re labeling me a hater, maybe because it’s easier to dismiss me that way. If I was a hater, I’d never write about Dale. Witness my predecessors here at The Stranger. So stop it. I’m having a more interesting conversation than that. Or at least I’m damn well trying.

And two, you called Christopher Frizzelle a “creepy” man on your blog because Christopher asked whether Dale was creepy. Doesn’t that make you creepy for calling Christopher creepy? Don’t be such an easy target, will ya?

Now happy Xmas, damnit, one and all.

RSS icon Comments

1

I wish they made "I heart Jen Graves" bumper stickers.

Posted by slog reader | December 21, 2006 12:10 PM
2

Does anyone say anything to a person's face anymore?

Posted by Redshirt | December 21, 2006 12:18 PM
3

don't worry, you can't spell Hackett with out "hack".

Posted by rubyred | December 21, 2006 12:21 PM
4

Should read: "If I *were* a hater..."

Just sayin'.

Posted by Eddie | December 21, 2006 12:21 PM
5

The life of an art critic. Oh, the perils (If Erica C. Barnett finds out you have a car to stick that I Heart Jen Graves bumper sticker she'll probably put your name on a secret list by the way).

I know what to do. Let's pretend Jen Graves, the entire Seattle P.I. and Dale Chihuly all don't exist. Come to think of it, I already was, I just didn't know it 'til I read this blog post.

Posted by We, Anonymous | December 21, 2006 12:26 PM
6

All in all, this is the stupidest exchange I've seen in a while. You arts critics have a way of even making the "soy makes you gay" guy look sane by comparison. Get out more, hun.

Posted by frederick r | December 21, 2006 1:01 PM
7

I THINK jEN DOES NOT KNOW THE DIFF BETWEEN ART CRITIC AND SOCIAL THEORY HACK

DALE IS RILLANT AND JEN GRAVES LIKES TO DIMINISH PEOPLE WHO SHINE......ALL THAT ANTI STUFF WAS TO SELL.... A LA STRANGER MARKETING PLAN

GET A CLUE JEN. BE A CRITIC AND LEAVE THE REST......ALONE. WHO CARES.

Posted by sturgie | December 21, 2006 1:06 PM
8

But, "weasel-like" isn't necessarily the same thing as "creepy" though...

Posted by matthew fisher wilder | December 21, 2006 1:11 PM
9

I think you should change your tagline of "Seattle's Only Newspaper" to "the city's best alternative paper" - Regina Hackett, PI

Posted by snacky | December 21, 2006 1:13 PM
10

Hackett writes in her blog entry that the terms of the settlements are sealed. Then she writes later that Chihuly "backed off." We don't know that, right?

The only reason that someone who launches an ill-advised lawsuit backs off is when they are told exactly how much money and/or face they will actually lose when they go to court.

Otherwise, they go to court because they think they will win.

Posted by Glenn Fleishman | December 21, 2006 2:15 PM
11

Attention shoppers: Logic problem on Isle 3. Me calling Christopher creepy in response to him asking if Dale is creepy isn't creepy. It's recognizing the nature of his query, a comment pseudo-softened by a question mark. (See Jon Stewart on question marks of this sort.)

And Jen: I didn't call you a hater. Hater? You? Never from these typing fingers. You know I disagree on your Chihuly piece. That's it.

And Glenn Fleishman. There are plenty of reasons why people back off lawsuits, esp art lawsuits, as art is poorly understood in many quarters. For instance, the Seattle Times and the Stranger's Chihuly coverage.

That's it, and Happy Holidays back at you, Jen Graves!

Posted by Regina Hackett | December 21, 2006 4:51 PM
12

I'm not mollified. I won't be until someone tells me what rilliant means.

Posted by Dan Savage | December 21, 2006 5:04 PM
13

I wish they made "I heart Regina Hackett bumper stickers".

Posted by caroline | December 21, 2006 5:05 PM
14

I wish they made "I Club Dale Chihuly" bumper stickers.

Posted by Joh | December 21, 2006 5:50 PM
15

Jesus - out of nowhere Savage makes me spit my coffee all over my computer. I was thinking the same thing, Dan.

Posted by longball | December 21, 2006 5:50 PM
16

Redshirt - No, nobody. Blogs are the new "after school behind the monkey bars."

It's easy to be clever after you've seethed about it all day. Too bad it's overidden by a distinct air of pettiness. And in response to pettiness no less.

Posted by shrill | December 21, 2006 5:57 PM
17

Hey, Regina -- You know what doesn't help the understanding of art? Your patent dismissal of any attempt to raise valid questions about the work of an exalted local artist as either knee-jerk haterism (yeah, you didn't explicitly use the word "hater," but even a one-eyed man could read between the lines) or bad coverage. How does refusing to engage with the various real issues the lawsuit raises further intellectual discussion of art in this town?

Here's one of those issues dumbed down for you, just on the off-chance you want to actually engage in a substantive debate: Chihuly's lawsuit raises questions of ownership and production, questions that are tough for him to answer considering that he doesn't physically create most of "his" work, and considering that both the marketing of the art he sells and the medium he's working in place a huge emphasis on the artist's physical connection with each piece he creates. That's a contradiction worth exploring.

And throwing a "questions of authorship were settled 40 years ago by Warhol" in there only betrays your own art-historical ignorance -- Warhol and Chihuly aren't even remotely doing the same things. The former made the idea of factory-style mass-production of art his real art. The latter doesn't even want the factory aspect of his work widely known.

Also, in your response to Glenn Fleishman, are you suggesting that Dale Chihuly poorly understands art, that that's why he dropped the lawsuit?

Seriously, you might try intellectually engaging with art rather than merely lauding everything you see. It's so simplistic to come from the critical standpoint that because artists have been enshrined in the canon, everything they do is breathtakingly wonderful (see your substance-less review of the Bob Dylan show a few months ago for another example).


Posted by Superfurry Animal | December 21, 2006 7:44 PM
18

You guys still argue about art? You should try fighting about morality, that's the new hot shit.

Shit, sports wagering eclipsed arguing about art before that. Get with it squares. Bomb a clinic. Crash a hjacked cab into a 7-11. Antyhing, just be edgy.

Posted by Cry Tough | December 21, 2006 9:45 PM
19

Yes, and Saparmurat Niyazov just died. Shouldn't we all be concerned about the political uncertainty in Turkmenistan? How long will his golden statue continue to rotate, following the sun's orbit?

Posted by Jim Demetre | December 21, 2006 10:27 PM
20

I don't fucking know. Who sculpted it?

Posted by The Turkey George W. Pardoned | December 22, 2006 1:55 AM
21

These lawsuits and the ensuing fanfare have generated enormous publicity for Chihuly . The man is a marketing genius, and he's about to vault to a whole 'nother level. In 2007 Chihuly plans to up his bi-polar meds, and then using hot glass bits, he'll destroy the sight in his remaining eye, thus establishing himself as a serious performance artist. A PBS documentry: "Chihuly, Blinded by the Light" will follow.

In a final transformation, Dale will become a blind conceptual artist, churning out still larger volumes of work that he cannot see, except in his own mind. He'll hire new assistants that can read and interpret his thoughts, and new accountants to count his money. Portland Press will issue limited edition catalogues, consisting entirely of blank pages. Special Price: $150.00


Posted by racer x | December 23, 2006 6:10 PM

Comments Closed

In order to combat spam, we are no longer accepting comments on this post (or any post more than 14 days old).