Substance Versus Distractions

artwork by Theo Luna

Good, genuine art with a purpose can potentially come from anyone, not exclusive to any demographic. However, there is only a select percentage putting out notable work which truly addresses our age in a relevant manner. As the internet becomes increasingly flooded with ‘shit’ and meaningless, nihilistic AI-content: platforms which are putting out quality artistic substance have to increasingly compete against endless amounts of slop which draws massive attention. Let’s for a second forget about…well...about everything. Start from scratch. Let us omit meaningless technique and design principles and eye candy, none of such elements really matter anymore. 

artwork by Theo Luna

In an age as complex as ours, many artists seem to resort to ‘baking cookies’ rather than creating real art. There are various reasons for such behavior, some create ‘comfort art’ for financial purposes, practicality, or because simply the artist is too timid to experiment or work outside their zone of familiarity. Authentic artistic research rests upon the artist to investigate their world and reinterpret notions which have depth, meaning, and conceptual impact. Some artists create meaningless art because the work is what they are known for or what their represented clientele or galleries expect from them consistently. As a result, many galleries have become more like commercial businesses rather than venues for serious artistic research and enlightenment. 

artwork by Jaina Cipriano

The ‘enlightened elite’ are not exclusive to those who hold positions of professional managerial class in the arts. Rather, the enlightened elite are those (including artists) who understand quality visual art requires conceptual depth and a sense of deeper purpose. Surface aesthetics are no longer relevant in today’s age. In a world as complex as ours, we need art which conveys psychological, ecological, socialogical, theatrical, sensual, geopolitical, philosophical, and innovative impulses. Only a few of us ‘get it’, so to speak, which is why I repeatedly refer to the phrase of ‘enlightened elite’ in my essays. 

artwork by Theo Luna

One of the most relevant voices, collectors, and private enterprise who exist in contemporary art today would be Alain Servais and the Servais Family Collection. Here is an excerpt from a recent newsletter authored by Alain Servais himself:

“The idea that art is ‘just entertainment’ is a relatively modern one, shaped by consumer culture and commodification. If we allow ourselves to reduce art to just that, we mutilate it…But most of us seek more than diversion. We want to be moved, challenged, and changed. We want art to help us make sense of the world and our place in it. Entertainment can be part of this, but it is not the whole story. it can also educate, provoke, heal, and transform. It is a means of knowing, of revealing the hidden. A way of engaging with the deepest questions of existence, of exploring what it means to be human. Art can ask us hard questions about ourselves, and the experience being interrogated can be uncomfortable. But that discomfort is central to the human condition and the idea that it isn’t part of what we are and what we seek is a shallow one. Art can demand that we change ourselves. Whether we rise to that challenge is another matter”.

artwork by Jaina Cipriano

For us to be moved, challenged, and changed requires effort and serious interpretation of conceptual and provocative art. Imagine if you will, you walk into a room, and then you view work so profound to the point of entering a brief moment of hypnosis. You have escaped this realm and entered another dimension, a fantastical world where you have vanished to or even reconsidered the environments you inhabit, both in your head and physically. Through this experience, the sense of the metaphysical flows through your brain sensors and you receive chills up your arms and spine. This…is how art should make you feel. 

artwork by Jaina Cipriano

There are of course those who are opposed to any of type of serious artistic research and criticism and often declare ‘everything is wonderful’. No…not everything is wonderful. In fact most ‘things’, at least currently, are shit. In the age of endless and meaningless design-based and decorative painting, AI-slop, gimmicky ‘trick art’ posted on social media reels like Instagram, authentic art with a deeper purpose is needed now more than ever, especially in a world with so much complexity and pressing issues to address. Even if we interpret these subjects indirectly, in order to convey the purpose (and nihilism) of contemporary identity, such an avenue would be miles of progress against the endless amount of shit we find in our social media feeds and broadcasted to us through many other platforms, both physical and digital.

artwork by Elisabeth Hogeman