Compare us today with the Surrealists of the 1920/30s, where today we are not dependent upon nightmares and oversexualisation of our unconscious mind, and we are the Surrealists of escape from big tech (or Tex) but hosts for validation of our humanity without fake news or photoshop etc .TATT is upgrading and omniscient-making Art by Tech in our era yet in spite of technological advancement, we are fighting our own battles by elbow grease ! TATT have called in tech support to invade Culture with AI, and we are declaring a victory and we will continue resisting ! If Art is to resist dereliction of our sacred Art institutions then we have to stop treating them as bricks and mortar (real estate) and not leave them to suffer underuse and disrepair ! How ? By the army of Painter practitioners, who espouse that Painting is our most incorruptible resource of all Art media (?) that hasn't had massive technological changes in materials used in Paint etc since the 19th century. Indeed, the main transformation of Painting materials over the last 150 years has been on our capabilities of preserving and restoring Paintings !
The unfortunate downside of that is that the Fine Art market for 20th century Painting and pre 20th century Painting has developed ways to extend the life of a Painting and thus encourage purchase of it, at the expense of contemporary work as well as public access ! Indeed, there is more dark room technology for a photographer today, with all its digitalisation than in Painting materials that have remained constant ! But Painting is also not just ancient but it is at the forefront of how we resist Art being taken further away from the public. In medieval times most people could not write or read but could appreciate visual Art like frescos or stained glass windows of every Church in Christendom, even if they didn't speak the native languages ! They didn't need to read or write to find the visual narrative in both mythological and of course religious Art, but today people can read and write but don't necessarily understand much of contemporary Art or the Art world !??!! Why have we regressed so much ? Come back to Painting, we have missed you ! We need your image-making diversity, and TATT need not stand in your way ! Or perhaps this explains the dichotomy between Art illuminaries and the general public where ;there's a disconnect on your watch TATT !
In fact, it is easier to discredit an average Painting that is held in lofty esteem than a conceptual Art work that is either misguided, controversial, or limited but that it is 'contemporary' and therefore 'valid '!!?? When the media say it gets people talking, does it mean it gets the Art world talking to the Art world , and little but contempt from the general public who may often treat 'Art' today like it treats politicians- they all talk shit ! But surely there are more of the general public participating in Art by becoming the army of contemporary Painters who have taken Art and put it in their own hands ?!! What does this say about Art Historians and Art aficionados today?!?? Painters are doers not watchers in the UK today ! The Painter boom is just beginning, but shouldn't the negligence of TATT be taking note of Art inclusivity to break down barriers just like by Painters today and stop ignoring them ? Afraid they'd lose their job ?
So surely the moral of this paradox and contradiction (TATT is an advocate for Art but also a resistor to Art) that you will never need elitist validation to do good work, and what ever TATT say to you, don't convert but resist by finding your own way ! Welcome home to all of you who have been excluded from enjoying Art, and why not encourage others to Paint on their own terms too !?
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