I'm not sure why I am so attracted to
this subject, perhaps because of its emotional intensity, but over
the past months many times I have found myself thinking on this issue
many times. Why would someone hang themselves right before their
exhibit was launch in a 1997 exhibit (that shall remain nameless
until I find accurate sources), in Regina, Saskatchewan? The mood
was dark, outside the inner room, there were excerpts from The
Marquis De Sades journals blown up and still on display, yet in the
next room all was dark and the rest of the show was off limits, and
remained so until its close. The faint scent of death lingered in
the air, and all was black if you peered beyond the barrier. The
sign read “Staff Only” like a curse. I'm not saying this is more
than just a rumour but I heard through the grapevine that it was.
The artist in question had problems with life, stresses, mental
illness even. Perhaps it was only about herself.
But there are areas in art,
particularly in the field of photography when these stresses build up
in the sense that Life has a certain intrinsic value but one must
question how one views the importance of Art in the world. Every war
photographer who was placed in Vietnam (or other later wars) with a
unit, and I do mean everyone with a camera had to pick up a gun and
defend themselves, and in doing so kill someone just to stay alive.
It is an air and a poise to think one can be on the battlefield of
war and not involved directly in it or its consequences. The
question has come up over the years, over the virtues of this type of
photography when a girl trapped under debris from a volcanic lahar
drowned over 60 hours. The National Geographic field reporter was
Frank Fournier, who took a series of photographs of Omayra
Sánchez Garzón in 1985. The girl died, but the photograph
gained much praise, and won several notable awards. This is the
photo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omayra_S%C3%A1nchez
Also the placement of two rotting
sides of beef in the National Gallery in London behind glass, which I
can not find references to, but is said to have occurred in the early
90s as a reference to Francis Bacon's work “Figure With Meat,
1954”. Bacon had recently died, in 1992, and his art sold for more
than any other living artist at the time. This iconic
work, perhaps because of its profound emotional effect on many,
created many references and nods in art. It can be found here with
some of his other works:
http://theredlist.com/wiki-2-351-861-414-1293-1237-1292-view-figurative-painting-profile-bacon-francis.html
Among those that reference this
material is Nine Inch Nails video for Closer. And the German art
movement, among them Joel Peter-Witkin that inspired this inspiration
also reminisces on Death and the goriest parts of living frequently. Bacon's art also shows us, the viewer,
something very dark is very revealing about our inner nature. It was
the most controversial piece the gallery hosted in years, however, I
would say it could be outdone by later generations.
The question in the end is how much
value does Art have? If it can save a thousand lives and enlighten
the world to bring in the kind of change required to improve the
plight of a group of people, can the price be more than that of life.
Hotly contested is the series of art
pieces in... involving a dog being chained up in a gallery in
Nicoragua. The exhibit by Guillermo Vargaz Jiménez
was composed of a chained up dog that was by some reports
allowed to starve to death while gallery visitors walked by. Most do
not mention that 175 pieces of crack and one ounce of marijuana were
allowed to burn in the exposition. Outside on the streets hundreds
of dogs were starving all the time. There was no organization or
agency to deal with them, and this exhibit showed the need. Was it
an immoral thing to do? Was art really worth the life of a dog, a
very slow animal... if you had explained its role in life would it
understand? Isn't killing a dog synonymous with killing a young
child? In North America we don't use dogs as food, outside of the
Inuit and Eskimo peoples in the far north, and are generally disgusted by this art that one terrorist/artist found appealing enough for his most note-worthy installation.
More questions arise than
answers here, also. Death in art is not always intentional in the harsh Northern reaches of Canada
either. While taking pictures of a newlywed in her wedding dress, in
part of a lake in 2012, the photographer, Louis Pagakis, was startled to see Maria
Pantazopoulos go out into deeper waters, and have the young lady from
Rawdon, Quebec (north of Montreal) drown in the heavy weight of her dress, despite his
efforts to pull her out and save her. (Montreal Gazette 12.21.2012) Pagakis was floored. On his facebook page he writes that his
favourite quote is: “We shall be students till death”. And sometimes of Death, it would seem.
I would say to every person, artist or
not there is a certain wavering line that can not be crossed in terms
of deeming death as art. This sort of questioning can not be
avoided, yet remains a frightening prospect for the future based on
previous lassé
faire appraisals that we all know lead from upright to corrupt,
good to bad, Monarchist Democracy to Communist sentiment. Under the
past ideology it would be okay to walk into a gallery and for them to
show footage of an artist killing themselves, or partaking in an act
of murder. I would think that some guidelines should be drawn up for
this sort of thing. Although over-generalizations are of no help to
anyone, some thoughts on the moral correctness of this behaviour
towards death, and whether the public really wants to be exposed to
visions of death and murder need to be addressed.
In the end Life and Death are
subjective in value to the beholder, yet placing too much worth in
one can devalue the other, which are inexorably linked. But the
value of one's own soul is in the beholder's hands. If you don't
like ultra violent activities then don't support this sort of thing,
and join with the 4 million who wrote in to oppose Guillermo Jiménez.
Support your own world and your own life, by taking part in
activities that expand your consciousness, and open your horizons to
the world. If you do like the Gothic darker side of life, you are
probably in the right place if you live on the prairies, and you
should experience that topic in art more. Please don't go out and
kill someone because you think it is art however. Then I would have
to kill you.
