Painting After Art is Dead

I definitely grew up getting a lot of input in the form of science fiction, whether that meant Buck Rogers and Star Trek re-runs on TV, ET in the theater or gobs and gobs of Star Trek-based novellas from the library in my pre-teen years. I did venture beyond this realm in my adult years and I’m not going to trot out my sci-fi-nerd credentials because I’m certain many of my readers could best me wink emoji. What’s my point (not more nostalgia although hit that link for just a sec speaking of Buck Rogers…)? I grew up optimistic that there would be a future. And, I think I still am, or at least not convinced it’s impossible (for there to be a future).

Early this week one of two pieces which inspired words from me came across my feed (my muse was also a self-imposed deadline). It was mostly a review of Neptune Frost—a project from American multidisciplinary artist and musician Saul Williams and Rwandan filmmaker Anisia Uzeyman— on Artforum by Ruby Helot that briefly poked out from behind the paywall (good luck with that) . According to Ruby the movie succeeds where it severs the link between the extractive violence of postcolonial industry and the past and our present, allowing for a new future to come into focus. I mean, not utopia, maybe but, not dystopia. Ms Helot spends some time on dystopia, even pointing back at a prior Artforum article about our appetite for the same. I’ll note that I complained to some other nerds (I get why that’s funny) about the narrow range #strawmanargument of what was offered as exemplar of science fiction. tldr; the synopsis of the canon was limited to space opera-style good v evil round 2 million stuff. Despite dogging a lot of seminal movies for me and generally being an art world snob about people’s appetite for dystopia (something about pots and kettles) I really, really love her general point that “Yes!” we would all love to see a vision of a different, equitable future.

The other piece is (one of) Kate Thompson’s posts from her Daily Sticky about asking for what you want, and avoiding talking about what you don’t want, in order to get what you want (stay positive). First things first you must all read everything Kate writes. Second, I’m sure part of the reason the message that the positioning and attitude that lead to success are positive really jumped for me is because I’m in sales, and gosh that’s just sort of basic.

While Kate’s message is not the same message as Ruby’s, I got the sense that Ms Thelot would like that Ms Thompson is asking us to consider that the message that resonates the most is likely to be the one saying what we want, because, we want something, something better.

I read these pieces in our current social context, which is one where many feel lead to proclaim, online and publicly, that if we aren’t talking about what isn’t right then we aren’t paying attention, right? I’ve been wondering about that message, which is every where in my social media feed, because the world does in fact appear to be in danger. And, “yes,” many of the decisions made by those in power do not align with my values either. And, what role can any of us as artists have in presenting a picture what we want. “Yes,” it will be a fiction- possibly even science fiction.