Visual Art Aug 25, 2009 at 12:55 pm

Comments

1
Thank you for articulating much better than I could yesterday what was bothering me about Mae's so-called intervention.
2
Hmm. I didn't pick up the "I'm saving this work" vibe from yesterday's post. If that intention was there, it's as much bullshit as the museum's statement about "altering a work of art hanging on the wall of a museum is never really an okay thing to do," given the nature of this piece.

Also interesting is that it's not just the employee vs. patron dynamic that was underlying the comments in yesterday's post (i.e., what is okay for an employee to do vs. a patron). But, interesting that Darling suggests a third role... employee vs. patron vs. artist. It may be okay for a patron to come in and do what they want to a piece, but as soon as that person is an artist, with a specific artistic intent, that crosses a line. I'd be interested to hear what people think about that...
3
Yoko Ono's still alive?
4
GOD WAS NEVAH ALIVE. THE STARS WERE NEVAH GUARDED BY DAN SAVAGE. CHAOS NEVAH DIED. THE ARTIST NEVAH HAD ANY KONTROLL. I'M MIKE D AND I CAME TO RULE/ FLIP THE SCRIPT/ ASK MY BITCH/ CURATE THEN I THRU.
5
If I had come with the scoundrel who cut off her slip and snipped her brassiere, I would feel so very embarrassed.
6
I think you're assessment is very thoughtful and exactly right.
7
Christ, all this does is affirm my impression that most people involved in the arts are full of shit.
8
Really? Ono's "studio" (what is that, exactly?) agreed with Darling's decision to fire her?

I guess I still see the wrestling match as between Mae and Darling, and Ono as barely involved. Yet this whole thing has become a power struggle in her name.

It is weird, and off-putting, that Mae did this with the intent to save the piece from the public, and essentially from itself. It seems that if anyone is guilty of putting a misplaced, objectifying preciousness on Ono's piece, it's Mae.

9
I couldn't quite come to terms with yesterday's post either. I think your assessment here is right.

Something about Mae's intentions just doesn't sit right with me, and I actually find Darling's paraphrased justification that another artist adding her own "stamp" crosses the line to be pretty convincing.
10
MIKEY D - ONLY WANNA PARTEE/ IF U LEAVE THA CLUB - LEAVE IT AT THREE/ TIME OF NITE FOR VAN GOGHIN/ TRICK N HOE-IN/ TARGET PRACTICE WUZ JUST AN ARENA 4 U TO BLOW - IN
11
Every time I see Yoko Ono, I feel the urge to indulge in a primal scream.

Luckily, I haven't done so. It doesn't go over well in public, and she's way shorter than most people realize, so it feels bad to do such a thing.
12
What a great follow-up piece to the whole issue, and I really appreciate your investigative-/ thoughtful-ness on who's involved and how, and the effect of the piece and Mae's interruption. This whole thing has me thinking on art and interactivity, as a whole.
13
@5 you should already feel embarrassed at all times, just for being you.
14
Ono is/was a stupid bitch. When people call that shit art, I die a little inside.
15
I met Andy Warhol at a really chic party.
16
Please stop giving this "performance artist" (definition close to attention whore) any more of her drug. Pathetic and sad...securtity guard at SAM got fired. End story!
17
Far be it for me to claim I can tell the difference between art and crap in the abstract art community; these two pieces, Painting To Hammer a Nail and Cut Piece remind me of John Cage's 4′33″, which is intended to bring the environment, and hence the more notable elements of public reaction, to light.

Hence, Mae's response as a gallant protector is part of the intended effect of Hammer a Nail (and her subsequent firing) as was the rather indulgent fellow who laid into Ono's bra-straps in Cut Piece (as is, it follows, Aislinn's empathetic reaction to Ono's undressing and douchus's dismissal of Ono as an artist.)

I think the whole point was for these kinds of responses to occur, and for us to observe and contemplate them. And I think Ono should have expected to be stripped bare naked at the Cut Piece performance by an enthusiastic public. Maybe she did.
18
Once again, Ono is successful, as an artist. The audience was fully integrated into the piece, to the point of it actually changing Maes' life. The power and vulnerability of her work, then and now, is unsurpassed. Cut Piece almost had me in tears, with the thought that given the chance, people will feel free to violate almost any boundary. And isn't that what Mae did? She was invited to hammer a nail, and she was swept up in a provocative act that she seemed driven to pursue. How many artists can claim such an effect. How Many?
19
"cornball."
lol

I thought that was a good video. I did surprisingly like it more than I initially expected being that I am not a fan of her art. Cut Piece, however, intrigued me.
20
she (mae) is an artist and created her own interpretation of the piece. even the placard for the piece leaves an extreme oportunity for individual interpretation. nowhere does it say to tack papers to the work, but that is happening. so the taking away is also just as good.

even if yoko does not like it, it still occurred. it could possibly be considered an "addition" to the artwork. or, it could be interpreted as a work BASED on a work. either way, i say it is good, and it is art. especially with a work of this nature, and artist (yoko) has no right to say what is acceptable and unacceptable when she invites the public to engage the piece.

in all reality, what mae did was a concept piece based on a concept piece, while acting out a performance piece. good for her.

Please wait...

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