Uselful Idiots

Well, my answer is a little more complicated than the question. First, I do hold the opinon that the "artists" are a bunch of self-important, reality-insulated hacks.

Self- important because they feel that you MUST listen to their VERY IMPORTANT message, RIGHT NOW, and they don't care if some 9/11 victims families are "greiving" or "memorializing" the dead, THIS IS IMPORTANT!!! Plus, on the exhibit's website, it mentions how some of the artists are being investigated by the Secret Service, to play up the "we're very very brave 'cause the gov'mint is mean" angle. Well, there are postage stamps that depict the POTUS with a gun to his head. The "artist" should be very well aware that the Secrtet Service will investigate any potential threats against the Presidents life. If he didn't know that, he is a giant, thumping idiot.

I'll get to the insulation from reality in a minute.

I don't have a very good technical knowledge of Art to give an in-depth, hard hitting analysis of why I think they are hacks, other than these few things: #1: If their work could stand up on it's own merits as fully realized "visual metaphors" (which is what a bunch of them are going for), why not let the work speak for itself at any other place in the country, on any other day of the year? No, they went for instant controversial shock value by choosing 9/11 near ground zero.

1. 2: A big black sign with white painted letters that say "Fear Art". Done by two guys. Wow. Untitled Trash Left Behind After the Raid of Professor Steve Kurtz's House by the Yes Men. Literally, trash. At least the creator of "Piss Christ" had to drink enough to pee enough to fill the jar.

1. 3: What I've seen fails miserably as a "visual metaphor." Case in point- the American flag straitjacket. If you have to explain what message you are trying to send, it ain't working.

They are insulated from reality because they fail to comprehend that if you are loudly crying about govermint oppression of artists' civil liberties and you are, in fact, not being drug off to a gulag, or arrested, or fined, or disappeared, than your claims are rather self-refuting.

In spite of all of the above, I do feel that these idiots serve a useful purpose in our society, and are, in fact, "useful idiots." They are the Canary in a Coal Mine of our civil liberties. If at any given time you can find these yahoos decrying the loss of those civil liberties that allow them to decry the loss of same, you can be sure that our civil liberties are intact.

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