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The Artful Manager: What's ''authentic''?

Read the entry, "What's 'authentic'?," by Andrew Taylor, but then read the first comment that follows, by Bill Ivey. Taylor, writing from an arts manager perspective, observes: "Since arts organizations are often perceived (or perceive themselves) as havens of authentic expression, it might be worth a moment to define, exactly, what that means." Ivey, donning his "folklorist" hat, contrasts the "authentic" barn-raising, say, with the construction of a pre-fab barn -- or "authentic" blue jeans and their history of being workwear, with the "brand" of "authentic" designer jeans. Apples & oranges, and the oranges, it seems, are watery -- or "thin," as Ivey puts it: they offer "the illusion of purchasable membership in networks defined by exactly the history and shared values that in modern society are available to very, very few."

Tags: authenticity, branding, culture, culture_industry, folklore, ideas, ideology, marketing on 2008-02-08 and saved by2 people -All Annotations (0) -About

more fromwww.artsjournal.com

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“I am eternally optimistic; I am Chinese” - The Art Newspaper

First time I've tagged something under "gunpowder," but Cai Guo Qiang's art deserves its own tag and niche. I love this guy's work (although, admittedly, I haven't had a chance to see it in person, even though it was displayed at the Seattle Art Museum). Just to give an idea of this man's thinking:
"Gunpowder is a spontaneous, unpredictable and uncontrollable medium. The more you learn to control it, the more obsessed you become with the material. It is like making love with your husband or wife. The outcome is unpredictable and the same results are never guaranteed. Furthermore, in using gunpowder I can explore all my concerns: the relation to notions of spirituality as well as an interest in spectacle and entertainment, and the transformation of certain energies—such as violent explosions—into beauty and a kind of poetry. An artist should be like an alchemist using poison against poison, which is very much a philosophy from Chinese medicine. Turning something bad into something good…countering the force. It’s the whole idea of the alchemist, using dirt, dust, and getting gold out of it. From gunpowder, from its very essence, you can see so much of the power of the universe—how we came to be. You can express these grand ideas about the cosmos."

This is philosophy and art, not just tired old ideology and art. Brilliant stuff, truly.

On the Olympics -- a salient topic for us, in BC, given that next-door Vancouver will host the Winter Games in 2010 -- Cai Guo Qiang notes:
"The Olympics combine the entire country’s efforts, and can do a lot of previously unimaginable things. You can display your work in front of an audience of billions, but at the same time it can feel like you’re making the work for yourself. Through this event, one can contemplate and better understand what “Chinese culture” is. One needs to think about the past, present, and future of China and its relationship with the world."

That makes me think it's the most significant statement yet (for the non-athlete) on the Olympics: time to step

Tags: art, cai_guo_qiang, gunpowder, ideas, sculpture on 2008-01-21 and saved by2 people -All Annotations (0) -About

more fromwww.theartnewspaper.com

The Olympics combine the entire country’s efforts, and can do a lot of previously unimaginable things. You can display your work in front of an audience of billions, but at the same time it can feel like you’re making the work for yourself. Through this event, one can contemplate and better understand what “Chinese culture” is. One needs to think about the past, present, and future of China and its relationship with the world. You can use this platform to tackle the topics of ritual and ceremony. In brief, it can be an opportunity for self-growth.

TAN: How tolerant and supportive are the authorities towards the new cultural and artistic boom?

CG-Q: The higher the level of the official, the broader their vision becomes. They tend to pursue newer things and are more ambitious and tolerant to new culture than their subordinates. The Chinese government has changed more drastically than it appears to the outside world.
Gunpowder is a spontaneous, unpredictable and uncontrollable medium. The more you learn to control it, the more obsessed you become with the material. It is like making love with your husband or wife. The outcome is unpredictable and the same results are never guaranteed. Furthermore, in using gunpowder

I can explore all my concerns: the relation to notions of spirituality as well as an interest in spectacle and entertainment, and the transformation of certain energies—such as violent explosions—into beauty and a kind of poetry. An artist should be like an alchemist using poison against poison, which is very much a philosophy from Chinese medicine. Turning something bad into something good…countering the force. It’s the whole idea of the alchemist, using dirt, dust, and getting gold out of it. From gunpowder, from its very essence, you can see so much of the power of the universe—how we came to be. You can express these grand ideas about the cosmos.
When I was a child, the Chinese government did not allow citizens to buy flowers because it was a very bourgeois thing, but since my hometown of Guangzhou was far from the capital, I could buy flowers from farmers and go home and paint them. I associated this bourgeois act with being an artist. I didn’t want a nine-to-five job. I wanted to live freely.
I understood quickly the value of the underground. I was always very unwilling to align myself to any particular group.

seven for 2007 | varnelis.net

I've had this open in a browser tab for days, wanting to bookmark it, but hesitating because I found it impossible to describe, tag, or in any way categorize. So, let's just say it's "wow" and one of the best recaps-cum-predictions amongst the blogs. Read it.

Tags: architecture, cities, cloud_computing, creatives, economics, ideas, predictions, privacy, reference, wow on 2008-01-09 and saved by2 people -All Annotations (0) -About

more fromvarnelis.net

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INTERVIEW - ROBERT THEOBALD

Tags: ideas, socialtheory, theobald on 2006-06-12 -All Annotations (0) -About

more fromwww.wwwolf.co.uk

Q. The MAI seems to be based on the assumption that increasing
and institutionalising deregulation will make the world more predictable and
better for business.

I believe that those who accept this conclusion are deluding themselves.
I do not believe that a world run entirely on economic priorities can be stable
or serve the interests of business. In Reworking Success I state that there are
three requirements for a viable twenty-first century:
- ecological integrity,
- effective decision-making, and
- social cohesion.
These preconditions will not be achieved on the basis of economic
dynamics alone.
focus on social responsibility
and business ethics and to mobilise the groundswell of support which already
exists. This latter route is quite possible and is where long-term profits will
be found. Cultural directions are constantly challenging negative behaviours.
Business and the financial sector need to understand that they are
necessarily involved in a massive choice process. Tom Atlee, a close colleague,
argues that "the world is getting better and better and worse and worse faster
and faster." There are two mutually exclusive futures. Continued exclusive
concentration on purely economic issues will lead to a "race to the bottom."
so long as the stock market rewards
short-term financial profits corporations will be driven in perverse
directions. Given that we are indeed moving into a knowledge economy, it is the
people that corporations can attract and hold which are their most important
product. Accounting practices must change to reflect this new reality.
Recent developments in such corporations as Shell show
that they now recognise that they have been blind-sided by failing to look at
human rights questions.

Q. Do you then see corporations as part of the societal learning
process which is currently taking place?

I continue to be surprised by the failure of those in the social change
movement to recognise that corporations have moved further in shifting their
organisational styles than academia, media, non-profits and political systems.
I believe that business has many lessons to teach the rest of society.
MAI dramatically limits the opportunity for
communities and nation-states to preserve their own priorities and places
commercial interests above community and cultural desires.
Ever since Adam Smith we have known that business requires:
- social cohesion,
- predictability, often premised on law but really based on the
  prevalence of a set of cultural norms,
- a basically level playing field without excessive bribery or
  bureaucratic interference.
Up to the present time business has assumed that these are basically
"free goods." Trends throughout the world suggest that they are all under
challenge. It is in the narrow self-interest of business to become involved in
maintaining the cultural and political pre-conditions for its activities.
The main message appears to
be that maximum economic growth coupled with all the steps necessary to achieve
international competitiveness provides a desirable route into the future. The
problem is that this strategy has either resulted in a huge increase in
inequality or unemployment throughout the developed world.

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