#powhida

Lindsay Nixon slays in this review. One of my favourite lines: "Because, after all, isn’t being a little bit country what makes us Indigenous? We are the original rhinestone cowboys." 

Nixon’s piece is exactly how all art criticism should be-- direct, personal, honest, and playful. It seems to be the perfect solution to artist Emily Auchincloss’s complaint about art criticism, which artist William Powhida wrote about a decade ago now in his observations of the Miami art fair (see Powhida’s awesome blogpost “Feeling #rank, Part 2″). Here’s an excerpt:

Emily's frustration with art criticism though also has to do with the bleeding of opaque, theoretical, academic discourse into the public practice of art criticism. She identified some important points about reforming the practice of writing about art for both a general audience.  Basically, she would like art writing to be clear and direct, passionate, connected to the world, open to interpretation, and finally, humorous.

Some poignant speculation here, again by William Powhida. 

I’m recognizing some of all 3 tendencies within the creative spaces I sometimes inhabit. Have had a number of personal conversations about what it means to be professional, and/or successful. Also speaking with close friends about the scene like anatomy of local networking options, and peer groups. At times i’m choosing to opt out, longing to find deeper connections with humans, recognizing that life experiences and interactions are often, for me, an impetus for creative gestures. Opting out has me investigating spaces/places/peoples of this 3rd “zone” tendency and for now I’m finding what it offers to be rewarding, perhaps more pure, but still just another scene. 

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1.  The twenty-first century gradually dissolves any connection of something distinctive called “art” to pleasurable leisure experience, in general.

2.  Exclusivity itself becomes the medium. But it remains principally the symbolic property of an impenetrable leisure class. Secret rituals and private emblems, inaccessible to a broad public so as to reanimate the sense of personal destiny for the privileged—artists live on in this way.

REPUBLICATION ORDERING INSTRUCTIONS:

For the duration of my show, Unretrospective, at Platform Gallery,  you can order an authenticated “POWHIDA” republication from any JPEG* available on my website. Please browse my online catalog and send an email to [email protected] with your request(s).  Please use the following format for ordering (You can copy and paste it right into an email or fill out a request at the gallery):

  File Name: (Please click on the thumbnail image and the file name will be in the URL bar in your browser)

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  Please allow 2 – 3 business days for the gallery to provide you with a price quote (stretching will cost extra).  A deposit for half of the republication will be required to begin production in ShenZhen, China.  You can expect to receive your oil painted JPEG and a certificate of authenticity within 2 – 3 weeks.