________________________________________________________________________________ From "La Stampa", 12 February 2000 Art and life in the age of the Internet THE INEXISTENT ARTIST by Marco Vallora In these days came the news that one of the artist whom people discussed recently in occasion of the last Venice Biennale, and with particular attention in some reviews dedicated to art critic, was a fake, he didn’t exist. The same old, elusive, proteiform 0100101110101101.ORG. Obviously accuses the critique and art world of understanding nothing, of falling a prey to tricks, of living on fiction: if an inexistent artist can become famous in only one year, which seriousness can still pretend the conceited circuit critics-organisers-museums? He is right, there is no doubt. And so they tell you, but you, as a critic, don’t you feel involved? The problem is not that this imaginary Darko Maver (created with all his perfect attributes: Slovenian, orphan, escaped from the Academy, bombed by the Nato or even dead committing suicide... it seems a plot by Liala) doesn’t exist, because someone behind this “fiction” or “appearance” exist anyhow. The problem is more general: we mustn’t believe to this ridiculous and Mafia-like system, that accepts and promotes and organises seminaries on a presumed artist, whose unique “value” is the fact of being from ex Yugoslavia, rebel, involved in the war, while if his works exist or not has no more importance. And so he becomes an “artist” only thanks to that mediatic “charmes”: that’s news and that’s all. It’s not a chance that the piece of information about his inexistence comes the day in which newspapers are theorising on the hammer and sickle tattoo of Bertinotti’s [leader of the Italian communist party] nephew. Even the art world, nowadays, goes on like this: it was theorised years ago by David Ross, the Whitney director, in a text in which he defended the heteronomy of art and the fall of the borders between art and life: so, it suffices to be Porto Ricans, or lesbians, or belong to an ethnic minority, to gain a place in a museum. Besides we discover now that the dreadful images passed off for Maver’s “art” have been found in web sites: exactly no difference between art and life, as D’Annunzio wanted. Maybe Szemann, the Biennale director will laugh a lot about this misunderstanding because this news fortifies his ludic vision. Some years ago an ingenious Brazilian artist showed in the Biennale all the visiting cards that had allowed him to gain a place in that Holy Enclosure. The work was anything but that empty walk. http://www.0100101110101101.ORG http://www.0100101110101101.ORG http://www.0100101110101101.ORG http://www.0100101110101101.ORG http://www.0100101110101101.ORG http://www.0100101110101101.ORG http://www.0100101110101101.ORG http://www.0100101110101101.ORG http://www.0100101110101101.ORG http://www.0100101110101101.ORG http://www.0100101110101101.ORG http://www.0100101110101101.ORG http://www.0100101110101101.ORG http://www.0100101110101101.ORG http://www.0100101110101101.ORG http://www.0100101110101101.ORG http://www.0100101110101101.ORG http://www.0100101110101101.ORG http://www.0100101110101101.ORG http://www.0100101110101101.ORG >>>> >>>> >>>> unsubscribe: **** mailto:PROPAGANDA@0100101110101101.ORG?subject=unsubscribe_eng >>>> >>>> >>>> subscribe: **** mailto:PROPAGANDA@0100101110101101.ORG?subject=subscribe_eng >>>> >>>> >>>> PROPAGANDA: **** http://www.0100101110101101.ORG/PROPAGANDA >>>> >>>> ________________________________________________________________________________ no copyright 2000 rolux.org - no commercial use without permission. is a moderated mailing list for the advancement of minor criticism. more information: mail to: majordomo@rolux.org, subject line: , message body: info. further questions: mail to: rolux-owner@rolux.org. archive: http://www.rolux.org