An Introduction:
Good day, dear reader. I have this fine evening penned a typically angry article about the culture at large in our modern times (a common theme in my private and public thoughts and conversations). I hope that the dear reader agrees. And at the same time if you do not I hope that you get angry and fire back. Bring it on. I love you all. Have a good week.
-Cameron Page Thompson
Fear and Loathing in Modern Art:
There has reached a fever pitch recently a troubling trend of individuals lacking any semblance of artistic merit being placed on pedestals as the world’s next great thinkers. Everybody always wants to have discovered the next great intellectual talent and if we are quite honest with ourselves there aren’t many these days. What we find instead are individuals forced under such a designation without having actually exhibited much quality at all. The issue I find most loathsome is the frustrating trend of intellectualizing pieces of content which need not be—and quite simply have no business being—intellectualized. Take Sally Rooney for example. Silly Sally. Silly Sally wrote a couple cute little books about young people falling in love—one of which was made into a hit television program called Normal People. I will admit that I have seen the show (I fear that this was a desperate effort to make conversation with a girl. We need not get into that just now) but I would not, and shall not, deign to read the inevitable trash which Rooney undoubtedly releases. Now now now the dear reader may be wondering how I know that Sally Rooney puts out inevitable trash. Well well, my dear friend, the answer is rather simple: silly Sally is quite literally the face of the aforementioned movement which sweeps B rate (at best) artists out from what would fifty years ago have been a life of quite just qualalitical anonymity (that is to say warranted anonymity as a result of sub-par artistic creation) and propels them to stardom. And of course this is not silly Sally’s fault (why, the dear reader may ask, have I been calling her silly Sally? I could not answer that question myself. But hey, it’s kind of funny isn’t it?). Rooney is simply the best of the worst (or possibly the easiest of the worst and therefore the worst of the worst. I’ll get back to this). The latest discovery in a desert of talent from which the insatiable culture at large has squeezed every drop of unremarkable art.
The true problem is the lack of intellectual curiosity which exists, or, well, does not exist, in the culture at the moment. Well no that’s a rather pompous, pretentious, snobbish thing to write now isn’t it? And additionally it’s not quite true. See, as I mentioned before, there is a great curiosity for intellectualism today. Well that may not quite be the phrase for it. Because, see, a “curiosity for intellectualism” would imply that people are in fact interested in expansive, challenging ideas. Nothing could be further from the truth. The truth is not that there exists an intellectual curiosity, but instead that there exists a curiosity for intellectual ideas dumbed down enough to be easily consumed. What this could possibly be compared to is taking a pill to satisfy one’s hunger: the desire for fulfillment is achieved without having to put in any effort. This has before been called “the bimbofication of art” which is a rather apt term. I shall add my own neologism to the anti-boring-modern-art vocabulary here by designating it the wikipediafication of art. This is to say that, much like the online plot summary read by a schoolboy instead of the text itself, the majority of “art” in the modern day lays bare the idea without demanding much of the consumer.
I feel that people are in droves making their way to museums and are flocking in flocks to bookstores and so on. But the issue is that people are not doing such things for intellectual enjoyment. Yes, indeed. No. Well. Well, see, when people buy books these days they are doing it to show that they are reading. When people go to museums these days they do so because they understand that they will be able to get a nice looking picture out of it (and sure, if the dear reader goes and finds my Instagram page he or she will discover not one but two photographs of the dear author posing in front of some rather lovely Rothkos. But maybe I’m just putting you on). And this is where an “artist” such as silly Sally Rooney comes into play. Since the average person is not truly interested in bettering him or herself through reading or going to a museum, and since such a person is only doing such things to make it appear to others that he or she is “interested” in such things, such a person will seek out the easiest digestible aspect of the culture which he or she wishes to appear invested in (we return to the pill swallowing metaphor). And so we see authors such as Sally Rooney come to the forefront of “intellectual thought” (and I fear that this will continue throughout my lifetime). “Artists” in this modern era are scared. Scared of not making money scared of getting poor reviews scared of not receiving the approval of their peers. And so such “artists” make easy art. Art that is simple. Art that is easy to digest. Art that doesn’t challenge anybody. And as a result art that doesn’t say one damn thing. Damn these “artists” to hell. I want to be challenged. Let’s get crazy.
Some Recommendations:
Here is a link to an actually interesting piece of writing. As discussed with a friend of mine, the whole panopticon idea may be far-fetched, but the account of sensuality and eroticism in modern times seems relevant.
https://www.documentjournal.com/2021/08/rediscovering-desire-in-a-panopticon-of-virtual-pleasures/
Same deal with this one. Kissick appears to be the voice of reason these days. I must note for pride’s sake that I did write the above article before reading the article linked below. It just so happens that for once I am not the only person angry about something.
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-rise-of-bad-figurative-painting
Some Songs:
“Fleurette Africane (African Flower)” - Duke Ellington - Money Jungle
“Warm Valley” - Duke Ellington - Money Jungle
“I Wanna Be Adored” - The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses
“I Am the Resurrection” - The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses
“Island In The Sun” - The Paragons - On The Beach With The Paragons
“The Tide Is High” - The Paragons - On The Beach With The Paragons
“Crazy Feeling” - Lou Reed - Coney Island Baby
“Kicks” - Lou Reed - Coney Island Baby
“Ooohhh Baby” - Lou Reed - Coney Island Baby
“Coney Island Baby” - Lou Reed - Coney Island Baby
Some Photos