Thursday, May 27, 2010

Bare-Knuckle Steel Cage Art

I caught the tail end of an interview on the radio today with a choreographer who expressed a wish that some of the interest that we have in this country for sports events could be shown for the arts as well. He felt some optimism due to the exposure dance has gotten from TV programs focusing on competitive ballroom dancing; "ballroom dancing is a form of dance," he conceded.

My immediate reaction was "Yes, but..."

The reason why Americans watch sports is not to admire the ballet-like grace of Brett Favre executing a precision pass, or Michael Jordon soaring over the basketball court; it's to see who wins. Seeing your team play well has a beauty of it's own, to be sure, but we still want to keep score. Skill and artistry are but means to the end; and Vince Lombardi could tell you what that end is: "Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing."

The choreographer on the radio admitted as much when he attributed a renewed interest in dance to TV dance competitions. Oh, he put the emphasis on television for bringing dance to the multitudes, but the fact is that television wouldn't be interested and neither would those multitudes unless there was a prize to fight for.

But that got me to thinking. Maybe that's just what Art needs; a little conflict, a little drama; a little good, healthy competition to get people's interest.

But then, isn't this antithetical to the very idea of Capital "A" Art? After all, Art is supposed to be about Beauty and Aesthetics and Good Stuff Like That There, right? The Artist should be pure, creating Art solely for Art's Sake, without crass consideration of commercial value. Otherwise, Art gets dragged down to the level of the Lowest Common Denominator and we'll be stuck with blah, derivative art that imitates whatever's popular at the moment.

Except Art also needs an audience. If no one experiences the Art in one way or the other, it's just a tree in the forest falling on a philosopher when there's no one around to hear him yell. More importantly, even a Starving Artist has got to eat. As Samuel Johnson once said, "No one but a blockhead ever drew nekkid cat-girls except for money." (Or maybe he said something like that).

And even closer to the point, artists compete all the time. They compete against each other for inclusion in art exhibits; for grant money; for seats in an orchestra. It comes with the territory. This Darwinian Survival of the Most Aesthetic generally goes on invisibly, out of the view of the usual consumer of art; but maybe it's time to bring the general public into the process.

Theater was actually born in this type of environment. Greek theater started out as religious rituals, re-enacting old myths and legends of the gods; but by the Classical Era, it had become the tradition to hold competitions. At the Diyonisa, an annual festival in Athens, prominent community figures would produce plays that would compete against each other and the audience would vote on the best. Most of the Greek plays that have come down to us were entries in this competition.

Now granted, the Greek plays that are most highly-regarded today weren't always the ones who won the prize; but the very fact that they were a part of the competition brought them to an audience.

So would this type of thing work in other areas of art? It's an interesting indea. Composer and satirist Peter Schickele once offered a suggestion along similar lines:

New Horizons in Music Appreciation.

Then again, maybe what Art Galleries needs is more cheerleaders.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

A Plea to Todd McFarlane to please make money



Dear Todd McFarlane

Steve Niles is now a very popular writer, he is famous now for 30 DAYS OF NIGHT, and you might remember when Niles wrote Spawn the Dark Ages and Hellspawn. I'd very much enjoy paying the little money I have to you in exchange for collected versions of those runs.

Thank you
Alex Ness



Dear Reader...

Spawn: The Dark Ages in my opinion was a comic book series worth collecting as a trade paperback (TPB).

Lord Covenant is a 12th Century knight killed in holy crusade and is returned to earth as a Spawn from Hell. He is faced then with a choice that marks him as either hero, or demon. Does he choose to defend his people, his countrymen, or, does he join in the deathly task of killing and causing havok.

The setting is perfect, the Norse wars are just about to peak, the violence of the era palpable, and, the first 14 issues of the book established an interesting world. But, whatever the quality of those issues, Steve Niles, Nat Jones and Ashley Wood took the book, and made it incredibly powerful, even if not a lot of people bought it. The raging choices of morality, decisions based upon his flesh versus soul, and the imminent threat to his land lead Covenant to make decisions that remind the reader why they read heroic fantasy.



The mood is horror, the setting is medieval and violent, and the work, while somewhat raw, is very well done. Niles is in his perfect place, being able to show horror while depicting the thoughts and emotions behind the decisions. Nat Jones is decidedly perfect for the genre, the work is angular and jagged, depicting the emotions of the story. And, Ashley Wood kicks major ass upon the work on most of the covers, particularly the last few of the run. i.e. If you enjoy horror this book has it. If you dislike other versions of Spawn, this one has meat to the story that goes beyond gore. If you like heroic fantasy, this book works in that fashion too.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Dark Humor to waken a spirit.



Please click the pic to get the full view

When I am depressed I need something to crack open the ice upon my heart.

Shakes the Clown does it for me.

It is a dark, horribly dark humorous satire of the world of entertainment. Clowns, Mimes and Clowns who are Television hosts are analogues for Comedians, Actors and Talk Show hosts. Ready yourself to be repulsed and shocked, but then, realize this work is free from cliché and works to tell a story that is an allegory for a world you might not realize exists. It is dark, yes, but it is also funny, and affective.

Why am I depressed? Original member of Popthought.com and Poplitiko Alan Coil died upon April 30th, 2010 of a massive heart attack. He was one of my better friends in this world, and I will miss him, deeply.