101 excuses electronic pub

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101Excuses

How The Art Legitimize Itself

Manuel Saiz

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101 Excuses.

How the Art Legitimize Itself.


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Manuel Saiz

101 Excuses.How the Art Legitimize Itself.

decreatedBOOK


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101 Excuses. How the Art Legitimize Itself.

ISBN

Edited by Jonathan Kemp

The author would like to acknowledge to Jorge Bravo, Olga

Fernndez, Meiro Koizumi, Dominic Latham-Koenig, Manuela

Ribadeneira, Marko Rotoli and Ayako Yoshimura for their help,

suggestions and sympathy.

2008

www.manuelsaiz.com

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Introduction

About this book

101 Excuses

Traditional Phase

Positive Phase

Wicked Phase

Anti-performative Phase

Privileged Phase

Operational Phase

Media Phase

Post-modern Phase

Art self-reflective Phase

Contents

6

1l

18

20

30

52

70

86

96

106

120

130


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It is important to begin by stating the premises:

Every art work deserves to be realized and the onlyobjective limits that can be put on an art work'smultiplication are the ones that climate change oractive legislation defines.

If every football match deserves being played, and evenmore, broadcast, why should we be so picky with art works?Otherwise we might say that no art work deserves to be madeand no football match played. These are things that come in abundle.

Art works deserve to be made if they can be legitimised as artand every single one is legitimate at least at the artist's ownlevel of exigency. This might sometimes be a very low leveland it often (always) happens that art works that are legitimatefor some people are not for others (and some legitimate todayare not longer tomorrow).

Introduction

101 Excuses

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What makes art art is what the arbiters of art judge to be art(and what changes they make over time). A 'things' can be art

or not depending on whether it is considered as so by

Its author Other artists (The abstraction of an universal

that should be called The Art) The general public The art market Customs Officers

In the above classification (of those that judge art) theimportance of psychological factors in the perception of whatis or is not art decreases from the first category, where it istaken as the most definitive, to the last, where it is almostirrelevant.

Psychology is the main subject of this book. It focuses primarilyon the author as a judge, somebody who, consciously orunconsciously, considers for his/her verdict about what is art,some kind of (non-criminal) evidence that we are going to callexcuses.

Excuses are conceptual devices to make art works worthy bothin the minds of those who create them and in those whocontemplate them. Excuses are intended to define art worksthat are meaningful for the artist and the society.

What is an excuse?

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Art works are not made with excuses: the explanation of whya work is worthwhile, and why it is important for the people toknow it, comes retrospectively. The artist feels in each workthe emotion of creating something relevant and excellent by apure impulse. It is this impulse that crystallizes in a later stageinto an excuse. The excuse can be seen as the explanation asto why the artist felt what is an already past emotion.

In the artist's flow of thoughts the excuse appears followingone of these linguistic structures that formulate and validate

excuses:

it is art if everything that...is art. it is art because

If the space after the syntactical formula can be filled up witha concept that is consistent, thats the reason why the work hasbeen built, perhaps shown and hopefully sold.

Actually they do not need them. Excuses are a backup planafter the emotion has been burnt out. What artists need is tocreate art works and this is for them an irresistible drive. Being

the proprietor of this desire (or to be cursed by it, the carrier,the subject of it) is what defines somebody as an artist. Theurge to make art works does not appear ex machina. It mightcome from the need of money, social recognition, egotism,wishes to be good, the search for sublimation or consolation,or for any combination of the above.

Why do artists need excuses?

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As the career of an artist develops, the excuses change in boththeir importance and place in the sequence of the events in thecreating process. They tend to appear progressively earlier inthis process until the moment in which the formulation of theexcuse precedes the creation of the art work. When excusespass from the unconscious to the conscious, artists lose theirinnocence and are not free to follow their inclinations in thesame way as before. Without innocence artists are compelled tohypocrisy or cynicism and have to live with it. In many casesthis loss coincides with changes in the economic situation of

the artist or the parallel existence of other impulses that gainpredominance (for instance, the urge to form a family) and theartist stops making work.

Excuses are always on the edge, in a very unstable situation;

they are celebrated triumphantly for a short time in the realmof unconsciousness before they get coined into a solid structureand then become a source of embarrassment.

In a way it can be said that excuses help art without being souseful in themselves: they help when they can be used strategicallyto justify the existence of the work, or when they can beinserted gracefully in the discourse of the artist; but when theartist stops feeling them and starts believing in them, then theyare obsolete and have to be replaced with new ones.

Each move from one excuse to another improves the artists'ability to understand his/her work and helps to make more

If it works, it is obsolete

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complex and richer works. We can agree with Stanley Kubrickwhen he says that "Every scene (art work) has already beendone. Our job is just to do it that little bit better". It is the jobof the artist to make each time a work that only can belegitimized with an increasingly sophisticated excuse. Thecareer of an artist is defined by the progression and order ofcontiguous excuses.

In an ideal world all the excuses would have become obsoleteand then the art, through perfection, would be abolished. John

Cage tells that Schoenberg use to say to his students at Universityof Southern California: 'My purpose in teaching you is tomake it impossible for you to write music. This sentencebecomes meaningful when one thinks that the best musicianwill not have any excuse to write music because they are nolonger traumatised.

Excuses become obsolete one level at a time and it often

happens that an excuse that has already become obsolete forthe artist is the reason for the audience to applaud the work aslegitimate.

Excuse means to clear from blame and comes from theLatin ex- "out, away" + causa "accusation, legal action". Excusesliberate objects from the accusation of being worthless, trivial,profane and insignificant. It is a charged term, with somenegative connotations, as it implies accusation and insinuates guilt.

Excuse against rationale

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To refer to these devices as excuses is useful in order topromote their study by artists for the purpose of progressingtheir practice. But the term can be substituted by other words,for example, rationale, argument or pretext for thosewho do not like the sound of it.

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This book has been inspired by101 Defenses. How the Mind

Shields Itselfby Jerome S. Blackman, a classification ofmechanisms the people use to shut out unpleasant feelingsfrom consciousness. I enjoyed reading it, especially whenrecognizing many situations that have happened to me or myfriends in the past, and for which I had previously no explanation.

I found a clear parallel of these defences with the mechanismsof legitimising art works used in contemporary art exhibitionsthat I regularly attend. The elements of coincidence are:

These mechanisms are used daily by mentallystable people as tools for a healthy and pleasantlife. The pursuit of good excuses is necessary fora healthy artistic life.

These mechanisms are sometimes conscious,sometimes not.

Defences and excuses often work in groups. Defences work until the moment in which

About this book

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they must be substituted with new ones and so doexcuses.

Their study helps to better understand bothpeople and art works.

The analogy between art and mental health goes much further.Art gives comfort, it is a therapy. Art would not be of any useif there was no trauma and trauma comes essentially from thefutility of human life. As long as we do not have grounds forour life, we need a therapy that operates through knowledge, by

contemplating a clear picture of the meaning of life or byvertigo. In this sense every art work is a sign that something isgoing wrong, that the trauma is still to be treated. Excuses helpart deal with the unpleasant feeling of living.

There are probably an infinite number of excuses, not only the101 I have listed here. There are, for sure, many I am not consciousof, maybe the ones that are still contained in my own work.

This is not a classification of art works but the grounds forlegitimisation. In this book I have tried to provide a frameworkthat explains the origins, properties and causes for the activityof legitimisation.

Excuses are grouped in phases. Generally speaking each phaseis comprised of more sophisticated excuses than its predecessor,at least if considered in its first formulation. Nevertheless

The dynamics of excuses

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some excuses might develop into the most sophisticatedexpressions within their own phase and then cross fromphase to phase, increasing their complexity.

Some excuses, even though appearing in different phases,share many things in common that make them look as if theyare the same one. The functioning of the legitimisation couldbe very similar in both but in each case a different system ofvalues gains relevance. Both Gratitude (7) and Kill Your Idols (100),

for example, refer to mentors but while Gratitude has a very

positive aspect, and acts by enhancing the humbleness of theartist, Kill Your Idols does it by stating irreverence as a value.

Excuses used in the Positive Phase can be used later in theWicked Phase or in the Antiperformative phase, and even inthe Privileges phase, but only by changing the attitude of theartists. For example Teenagers Dilemma (16) can be played as

somebody who wants to help others (the teenagers) in thePositive Phase, a rebel or perverse who doesn't respect rules inthe Wicked Phase, a misfit in the Antiperformative phase, andby implying I am young and you are not in the PrivilegePhase. Hacker (45) would be another example, as it can be

played at the same time or alternatively as hero, cheeky,enfant terrible, punk, etc crossing over all the phases.

Some excuses can be given a completely different feeling whenapplied to diverse media. Many times artists can maintain thelife span of an excuse by changing from, let's say, painting tophotography or video, whilst maintaining the same groundsfor legitimisation.

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Some excuses are the result of taking to the extreme one thathas become obsolete. For example, it is not uncommon forartists pass from Anti-Innocence (37) to Anti-Animals (38).

On other occasions one excuse is no longer persuasive enoughto give to the artist the confidence he/she needs to realize thework. Then another excuse can be made to reinforce andsupport the first one. For example a painter who is no longersatisfied with Natural Beauty (1) or Beautiful Body (2) can apply

concurrentlyToo Much Paint (52) to continue his/her practice

seamlessly.

Indeed excuses usually occur in groups or constellations,working in cooperation and getting in tune to balance with

each other. Typical excuse constellations occur in the followingartistic states:

Political Rebel might combine some of the following: U.S.

President Related (27), Window Injustice (21), Hacker (45),

Embracing Democracy (18), Risky (29)

Young Urban Professional: Hacker (45), Tough City (31), NewTrends (92), Hypertechnology (93)

Ancient Humanism: Shaman (11), Rousseau (13), Hours of Labour(5), Bodily Fluids (35)

Flying in formation

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Practically there are no exclusive excuses and any one cancombine with any other. But there are also wildcards, excusesthat can combine naturally with every other one as forexample: Rhythmic (4), Risky (29), Too Long(54), Useless (47),

Cost (49), Let's Have Fun (61)

This classification of excuses has been created for study andresearch purposes, both summarizing the experience ofvisiting art exhibitions and to develop better ways of workingfor artists. But it can also be used for entertainment, eithersolitary or with friends, by playing it as a little game.

To do so, write the consecutive numbers from 1 to 101 on

small cards, one number for each card. Place them in a bag ora hat and randomly pick out some cards. For beginners two orthree cards are enough, adding more when experience hasbeen gained. Read the numbers, look for the correspondentexcuses and try to imagine a work that can be legitimized withall these excuses at the same time.

Be aware that some excuses go together better than others.The ones in the Positive Phase are less able to be combined.The more unnatural the combinations become, the morecontemporary the character of the potential work gets.

Have fun.

Recreational uses. The educational corner.

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101 Excuses

How the Art Legitimize Itself.

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Traditional Phase

Art is culture. It has always been with Humankind. It is

something that elevates humans. Society needs art. Artists

are artisans that create beauty for the enjoyment of the

others. Art is established as an institution.

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Natural Beauty

The showing of beautiful landscapes and thebeauty of nature.

Paintings, photography, sculptures, videosand installations.

21

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Beautiful Body

The showing of beautiful human bodies.

22

Female bodies are sensuous, male bodiesare athletic.

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Colour Sensitive

Beautiful colours on the monitor, on the screenor on the canvas.

Although it looks like a different excuse ifput into operation by a painter who appliescolour to canvas or by a video artistapplying and combining filters in editing

software programmes, the output of bothis legitimized by the same impulse.Actually it is very common for artists whoare not satisfied anymore with this excusefor one kind of medium to turn and use thesame excuse in another.

23

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24

Rhythmic

Images really look powerful with this music.

This excuse saw the light of day with theadvent of video art and music videos. Itworks in conjunction with virtually anyother excuse that applies to video.

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Hours of Labour

That everything about it is very elaborate andtime consuming.

Works that have a lot of merit. Thisexcuse benefits from the value of theabandonment of life in favour of art.

25

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Glory to the Lord

Works that serve God's plans.

26

Confessional religious artists feel theirworks are legitimate if, by creating them,they serve God.

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Gratitude

Everything that is a homage to a famous artist.

The artist subject of the homage can eitherbe local or remote in both time and space.

27

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Masters Strength

The reconstruction of scenes from famouspaintings in painting, photography or video.

28

Different media is made legitimate indifferent contexts but the principle towhich they appeal is the same in all cases.Many times it plays concurrently with

Gratitude (7) but Master's Strength gets itsjustification from singular unique works,often without direct acknowledgement ofthe master's personality or legacy, but ratherto their technique.

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Already Legitimate

Repeats something that has already been provedas being good.

All the works of art created by famousartists are legitimized immediately. Theartist doesn't even think it is necessary tolegitimize the work.

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Positive Phase

Art is a good thing. Art is here to do good. Artists are good

people. Art should make life and/or people better, more

beautiful, happier, freer Artists must pursue trying to make

changes in society.

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Sacred

Works that connect with the sacred.

Works that are related with the sublime,and specifically referring to things relatedto religion. .

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Shaman

Those that make the viewer think that theartist is a shaman.

32

It is similar to Sacred (10) but here it is the

artist who connects with the sublime andnot so much the work.

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Paternity/maternity

Videos and pictures made with kids of theartist.

Shows the beauty of giving a new life.Connects with Sacred (10) but focusing

more in how cute the kids are.

33

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Rousseau

Those that pay tribute to the past, whenhumankind was more natural and peoplemore generous with their fellow men.

34

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Help here

Help to the poor people over here.

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Help there

Help to the poor people over there

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Teenagers Dilemma

Those works that show the state ofincomprehension in which the teenagers ofthe first world are in.

37

The excuse belongs to other phases if theartist is teenager, plays the teenager orused to be a misunderstood teenager.

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Wealthy Lonely Seniors

Those works that show the state ofincomprehension and loneliness in which theelderly citizens of the first world are in.

38

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Embracing Democracy

The artist is a good person and beliefs indemocracy.

39

It is about the right of people to decideand about the need of convincing thepeople that they need to decide. And thepride that goes with deciding everything.

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Correctness

Extremely politically correct.

It connects with many others that actuallyare politically correct but it is pointing outthe need to look at the small details to beabsolutely correct.

40

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Greenpeace

Works that relate to ecological matters with ahint of active militancy.

41

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A Window of Injustice

Social injustice crudely exposed.

Usually shot from the window of theartist's own apartment. It is not countryspecific as everywhere there is a window,an injustice being committed and an artist

who just bought a camera.

42

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Grupos Sociales Oprimidos

All injustices committed against a social groupcan be represented.

43

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The social group should be previouslyendorsed as one of those that have sufferedinjustices. Non-endorsed groups can bealso useful but require the effort of giving

extra information.


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Gay Issues

If it tackles a theme that interests this community.

It is a specific case of oppressed collectives.

44

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Social Irony

Every injustice committed against a social groupcould be represented as if this group itself

would commit them against other social groups.

45

For instance black people performingactions that only white people used to do.

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Gender Inversion

Everything that has been done by men can bedone by women.

A great part of feminists works aresupported byOppressed Social Groups (22).

Gender Inversion only applies to role shifts

between men and women, even if it does

not involve gender claims.

46

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Evil Corporation

Painting, sculpture or photographic prints thatdenounce the dodges of corporations.

47

Especially used with new electronic meansin fake websites or mock marketing.

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U.S. President Related

Every painting, sculpture or picture that ridiculesor denounces the President of the UnitedStates of America.

It appeals to a revelry against norms andpower, and power is well represented bythe President.

48

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Amnesty International

Works that relate to human rights matters witha very active militancy component.

49

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Risky

That put the life of the artist in risk.

Risky appears in the Positive Phase appealing

to artist as a hero. But it has its apotheosisin the Wicked Phase, when used to showthe vertigo of life.

50

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Wicked Phase

Art is a bad thing. It is bad because life is bad and art only

reflects what life is. It shows all that is horrible in the world,

the perverted side of every human being, and of every society;

the odd, the artificial, and the weird. Art is against the rules.

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Brutal Truth

That shows the cruelty of nature.

Don't think that nature is a beautiful thing.It is full of cruelty, with strong animalsruthlessly killing the weaker ones.

53

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Tough City

Those that express the ugliness of the urbanand its artificial landscapes.

54

It frequently includes themes that expressthat humans live artificially or are machines.

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Beehive

If it expresses that humans live like animals orare animals.

55

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Privacy

Everything that expresses privacy on a newlevel that the audience has not yet assimilated.

56

The matter of scandal has been aboutsex, corporal fluids, illness Even if theinnovation in this excuse is difficult andscarce, there is always fresh audience to

be scandalized on various levels.

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Psychotherapy

That expresses traumas from the childhoodof the artist.

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Bodily Fluids

Shows bodily fluids that are normally hidden.

58

It is similar to Privacy (33) but highlights

the plasticity of liquids and the internalenergy of the bodies. Less aimed at creatingcontroversy.

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Self Punishment

It exists in works in which the artist showspain.

The artist is suffering because s/he is anartist, because s/he is a human, becauses/he bravely castigates her/himself.Artists weeping on the screen.

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Anti-Innocence

It exists in works showing violent acts againstinnocent objects.

60

Innocent objects can be all those relatedto childhood, such as teddy bears, toys,etc. Violence could be sexual, firearmsrelated or involving lumberjack and

blacksmiths tools.

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Anti-Animals

It exists in works showing violent acts againstanimals.

It is a more punk version of Anti-Innocence

(37). Same variables. New societal concernshave limited this excuse recently todocumentary style of Third World practices

or to comic/puppets versions.

61

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The Perversion of the Innocents

Kids playing with danger or sex.

62

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Creepy

Those that feature real dead bodies.

63

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Rotten

Those that feature things in varying states ofdecomposition.

64

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Stuffed Animals

Works that use stuffed animals.

Sometimes pretending that they are stillalive.

65

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Hitler

A painting, picture of video that uses theimage of Hitler.

66

Doesn't need to imply anything, against orin favour. Just the image alone is strongenough.

- 4 3 -


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War Zone

The buildings in the image have been bombed.

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Hacker

Here there is a gap in the system.

68

This excuse benefits the misfits challengedspirit. To show that the system is not perfect,the art works in the interstices and showhow clever the artist is.

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Heretic

Attacks made on religion in any way.

This excuse has to be validated by society.It requires response by either public opinionor the religion under attack to feel valid.An official statement from a cleric or a public

demonstration in front of the gallery arealways a bonus for legitimisation.

69

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Anti-performative Phase

Art doesn't fit with the rules of society. It doesn't work.

Society coerces people to behave like machines in producing

and earning money. Art cannot be understood in these terms.

Excuses in the Anti-performative Phase often work by

deploying mechanisms that disappoint by not delivering a pay

off or punch line, rather an anticlimax.

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Useless

It is not of any use.

71

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Crazy Event

It is not to be sold. It is not commercial.

72

Therefore it doesn't follow any logic. Thisis especially so when applied to alternativeart works in the USA.

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Cost

Everything that costs much more than it wouldif realized in the commercial realm.

73

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Too Big

This is too big to be anything but art.

74

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Too Small

This is too small to be anything other than art.

75

- 5 1 -


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Too Much Paint

There is much more paint than necessary.

76

This excuses can play accumulatively byhelping others that otherwise havebecome obsolete to continue performingsatisfactorily.

- 5 2 -


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Too Uncomfortable

This is too uncomfortable to be somethingother than art.

Furniture that actually is not furniture.

77

- 5 3 -


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Too Long

It is too long to be broadcast.

78

Extensive use of video that challenges thestorage and bandwidth capabilities of media.Marathon recordings of performances.

- 5 4 -


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Too Slow

It is too slow to be anything but art.

It doesnt need to be long, it only feels long.

79

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Out of Focus

Mainly traffic lights in the night.

80

It works often in conjunction with Colour

Sensitive (3) but it focuses in the existence

of something that it is there but it is notpossible to see, and thus somehow annoying.

- 5 6 -


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Stillness

If it is a video in which nothing moves.

81

- 5 7 -


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Clown

If it portrays clowns who do not make peoplelaugh.

82

- 5 8 -


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Absence

If the most important thing in the image hasbeen removed by electronic means.

83

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It's not Art

Works that specifically state that they are notart when presented in art contexts.

84

Those that acquire their status of beingart through its negation. The mainant i-perfor mat ive aspect is rooted inthe principle Negation of the evident.

- 6 0 -


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Privileged Phase

Art is above everything, so thus are the artists. They are freer,

more educated, more sophisticated that any other people in

society To be an artist is fascinating.

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Let's Have Fun

Everything that changes the boring life of allthose who are not artists.

87

- 6 1 -


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Artist's Freedom

Work that shows to others how lucky the artistis for having such freedom.

88

It is a combination of the positive invitationto freedom and the artist showing off.

- 6 2 -


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Special Eye

How the hell has this object ended up here? Itis a very lucky coincidence, and I have a veryspecial eye to have noticed it.

It benefits from the maxim that says thatany object put in an art context feels like ithas a reason to be there.

89

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Exotic Poverty

Pictures of an alley in a Third World city.

90

The artist has an eye to see the beauty inthe poverty, along with a hint of showingoff for being so fortunate/wealthy as totravel to such exotic places.

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Facial Landscape

The most fascinating landscape is my face.

My face is really weird when I make gestures.This excuse appeals often to freshness andimmediacy as A Window of Injustice (21)

also does.

91

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Rich

Because it makes me rich.

92

Not to be mistaken with other excuses thathelp make works that make people rich oronly those that rich artists can use. This oneis the fact that the works make the artists

rich and it is this that legitimizes the work.It first saw the light during the 1980s and,after some time out of trend, it got a newerand stronger lease of life during the firstdecade of this century.

- 6 6 -


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Opera

With opera singers.

It is much appropriated and used inconjunction with many other excuses, asthe very meaning of opera is to be baroqueand pastiche-like.

93

- 6 7 -


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Architecture plus Literature

Where master works from the history ofarchitecture are celebrated while a voice reciteseither the reflections of important thinkers or

melancholic stories.

94

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Operational Phase

Artists are kinds of engineers and scientists. But they are

perverted. So they take science too seriously, or they make

fun of it. The world is to be discovered, and the chaos to be

put in order. Artists are people of action, people who

transform the world. The main goal is to act, execute, or

operate on both nature and society.

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Mechanical

It is really amazing what you can do withobjects from everyday life.

Works made with plastic spoons, straws,toothbrushes, 'pound shop' stuff, metalliccutlery and crockery, arranged in unusualdispositions, often geometrical. These

unanimated objects seem to have a personality.

97

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Absurd Science

Works implementing absurd scientific processes.

98

Focusing on the method instead of themeaning or uses of the results. The methoddeserves to be exposed. The method isalways absurd, or fascinating, and by applying

it to an absurd subject it is made even moreabsurd or fascinating.

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Systematic

Following the method to the last bit.

Applying the method rigorously to subjectsthat resist methodology, with eitherdisappointing or successful results. It couldbe the enumeration, numbering and

cataloguing beauty spots on an arm orestablishing classifications like the one inthis book.

99

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Absolute Order

The accumulation and ordering of things thatare similar but disorganized in daily life.

100

Marching towards a tidier world. Animportant aspect of Absolute Order is the

repetition, not an excuse in itself, but aconstitutive element of many excuses in the

Operational Phase.

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Baroque World

Reproduction of objects from daily life inplaster.

Homogenization is a way of order byconstituting everything in the same materialto look the same. Plaster can be substitutedby bronze, aluminium, silicon, resins...

depending on selling expectations.

101

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Mantra

Repeat one sentence or one word until it losesits meaning.

It is close to anti-performative, but what isimportant in this case is the use of a methodto destroy meaning. It tests the limits ofthe artist's credibility and their ability to

communicate when becoming ridiculousthrough the extreme application of such asimple method.

- 7 4 -

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Antarctica A

A work that has been done in the Antarcticabut it is not scientific stuff.

Based on adventure and uniqueness.Performed by a man/woman of action.Featuring unknown territories of bothland and spirit.

103

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Antarctica B

Scientific works made in the Antarctica

104

Portraying purity and humankinds destiny.

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109/140

Media Phase

Media is important because art is about language and all the

languages in the world concern art. Media shapes society and

so does art. Everything contemporary happens or is shown in

the media so art needs to have control of it to be

contemporary.

106


110/140

Simultaneity and Zapping

Works that are showing a lot of video streams,either simultaneously or by frantic alternation.

Only art images are played simultaneouslyon more than one screen. Multichannel orzapping shows a fragmented world ofimages and monitors.

107

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Time Shift

Those that change the pace of time by electronicmeans.

108

Slow motion, reversing the sequence ofevents, the unscrambling of eggs.

- 7 8 -


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Celluloid

Every work that reminds you of what used to bedone with celluloid.

Those based in nostalgia with the implicationof a philosophical or technical meaning.

109

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Super 8

Using super8 cinema in the XXI century.

110

It has relationship with Cost (49), and

Celluloid (79), but it is more specific for

the jerky quality and aestheticisation of themoving image through the imperfections

of early technologies.

- 8 0 -


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Re-Edited Movies

Accumulation and alternative ordering ofmovie scenes.

The material existing in a century ofcinema can be used for art. The artisttakes elements that properly belong toan already existing cinematographicstructure, that perfectly fit in it, and putit into a different one, where might ormight not fit perfectly.Everything that is happening in moviesis fascinating if put together repetitively.For instance, gun shots, explosions. Itis the same as Absolute Order (72) butspecific to the media world.

111

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Hollywood

Manipulations of Hollywood icons.

112

Celebrity is fascinating and Hollywoodactors are the most famous. Manipulationscan be of all kinds, enhancing their image,giving different meaning to their utterances

(grotesque or profound), or just denigratingthem.

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Cult

Manipulations of cult cinema icons.

Usually to state philosophical thoughts orto open the door on the uncanny.

113

- 8 3 -


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Look-alikes

That feature look-alikes of famous people

114

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Celebrity Wannabe

Pretending that the artist is somebody else thathe/she cannot be (historical figure or celebrity).

Normally in the form of a documentaryor tv news. Also in the recreation ofhistorical portraits.

115

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Film Reenactment

Reenactments of famous film scenes but withlook-alikes, the artists, or by very poor means.

116

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Video Art Reenactment

Repetition of performances from thebeginning of Video Art.

117

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History Reenactment

Reenactments of historical episodes but withlook-alikes, featuring the artist, or by verypoor means

118

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9/11

Works that feature NYC's World TradeCenter.

On many occasions acts in conjunction withU.S. President Related (27).

119

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Post-modern Phase

Reality and fiction have mixed and are impossible to

distinguish now. Same with natural and artificial. There is no

connexion whatsoever between the representation and the

object represented anymore, so it is not necessary to look for

it.

120


124/140

Landscape Layers

That feature abandoned singular buildings orpublic constructions in remote locations.

About the meaning of human landscapeand the image of it in History.

121

- 9 0 -


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Neo Urban

Those that express the beauty of the urbanand/or artificial landscapes.

122

- 9 1 -


126/140

New Trends

Those that take part in teenage-based actionsand show cool youngsters.

The artists are a part of it or, if s/he hasgrown up, its done with nostalgia.

123

- 9 2 -


127/140

Hypertechnology

Works made with a very new technology.

124

The content of the work is usually abouthow new this technology is, and by doingthings that you were not able to do withthe previous technology.

- 9 3 -


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Data Freedom

All the electronic systems that, if you givethem some input, create feedback and a lot ofnoise.

125

- 9 4 -


129/140

Artist Mediator

Everything that surprises people by usingscientific instruments in very banal ways.

126

- 9 5 -


130/140

Gadgetry

That feature absurd gadgets.

Normally in order to perform absurdfunctions in plotless narrations.

127

- 9 6 -


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Hello Kitty

Extremely tender works.

128

Pink and pastel blue. An excuse coined inJapan but gaining international status.

- 9 7 -


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Meta Nature

Those that show the skills of the artist inexpressing the beauty and diversity of the nature.

Nature is complicated, so you needcomplicated skills to depict it. The valueof the work can be put on Natural Beauty

(1) but actually it focuses the attention on

the skills of the artist.

129

- 9 8 -


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Art self-reflective Phase

When a system is getting to an end and just thinks about itself.

130


134/140

Artist Clown

If it makes the artist look ridiculous.

Self humiliation. It shares many elementswith Self Punishment (36), but the artist does

not mean it personally but more like theartists is a person who makes fun for the

king.

131

- 9 9 -


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Kill your Idols

Parodies of serious artists.

132

Like works originally made in stone andsteel now copied in polystyrene. Very artschool specific. It appears sometimes inconcurrence with Video Art Reenactment (87).

Many times it is indistinguishable fromGratitude (7) with the same subject but

perhaps working in an opposite sense.

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Conjuring of the Untamed

Making fun of famous curators and critics.

Sometimes very local ones. Curators canbe portrayed as ridiculous or arrogant.The curator, subject of the homage, canbe local or remote in both time and space.

133

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