Demonising

As I see it, it is a normalised way to regulate, isolate, define, rule and be made feel guilty of having done and said something that has broken safety barriers of thought of how women for instance should behave, talk, dress, live etc. This is similar to politics where the ’enemy’ is demonized beyond anything imaginable to be the arch-enemy and evil on earth. It is no wonder Russia has had the label of the enemy nr 1 in people’s mind. How can I like Russia, someone asked me. There is so much to like about Russia and not to like, as there is in anything. One-sided truth is accepted because it is a machine that keeps the story alive, so much so that truth remains to be uncovered for those who go look for it and they have to dig deeper. Demonising works especially well when the enemy is fairly unknown, does things unconventionally and looks different. The one who speaks of the enemy is somewhat trusted, has authority and is known as legal truth teller knowing what is what, is close by and is verbally as visually convincing. demonizing is a basic tool to hold power, keep things unchanged because those who wish to change anything are labeled bad influences and in any way unfit to manage anything, know anything, are unreliable, rotten, threatening and unsafe to be with and be listened to. Weirdos, freaks, punks, anything that goes beyond the normalised and steady balance.

Demonizing has been used through out all times and works for those who do not know better. Anything and anyone who threatens the order of things and ways to think is often put down by the tool of telling a one-sided view, a scare, the truth, and with help of the mass who believe this given truth it can be the only info there is, only info that must be believed or otherwise you will be labeled as well. What to believe and whom to trust?

Women are and have been, as we all know, ones very fragile and poorly protected what comes to being demonized. It still does not take much rumours, dressing and behaving inappropriately to be targeted and monitored by those who themselves think are superior authorities holding mandate to judge and label. Authorities speak among themselves and forward what they see fit. To rebel against doesn’t take more than to have a different opinion and argue forcefully those who should not be argued. Why are there people who think they cannot be argued? Let me know if you know the answer. What is the absolute truth, what is the absolutely correct way to exist? For women it is clearly more narrow than for men and this unchanging state of affairs cannot be objected and forced to change? How weird is that. It takes decades and lifetimes of work and effort.

Punishments for there is devil in her, punishments against her as she lets her demon to have power over her and ruin her purity and good nature, and more importantly her devil contaminates the society and men. Amazing is how old ways of thinking and behaving stick, how labelling people makes society tic and makes hierarchy where those who have stigma are made to fall unless they have an enormous amount of faith and strength to rise above. To be alone in a hostile environment is what such person must endure wherever one goes. To jump into conclusions about people based on appearance, way to talk and what one chooses to do in life is of course something we are bound to do regardless of whether we try not to judge.

Much of pop culture test our limits of acceptable and toy with our conceptions about proper and stability. To play a bitch, witch, sex goddess, nymphomaniac, addict etc. belongs tightly to culture of idols. This is also what art at its best does. It tests and questions authority and our rules of acceptable. To raise abomination, judgement, scandals, abandon safety and conformity.

 

Say Bambi and u will melt hearts.

 

I have wondered for a long time about how with cute adorable things horrible truths and ugliness people make are kept hidden, underestimated and normalised. How something like fine art keeps telling people how wonderful and good its message is when the business truly is anything but wonderful and good. I personally can not find anything good about the ongoing way of contemporary art making grand illusions and telling people outside what is interesting and worthwhile to look at, how to think, how to see and to be in awe is the way to be and what moves us is the size.

Art commenting issues of the world like people there up were prophets who know what is good and how things should be done without them ever being wrong or admitting doing something wrong in repeat. Art is given such a position as an institution that it cannot be critiqued without being rude, without sounding bitter and envious. It is truly bizarre how well a corrupted system has taken over the position of absolute righteousness and possessing the knowledge of what is absolutely good and beautiful. A bubble where there is only absolutely wrong and absolutely right, in or out, seen or not being seen, being given voice or taken it away.

It looks that to truly know what goes on is not relevant but stay blind to ways of making is part of the deal because it is more fun and fun is what sells and is what most people seek/are interested in. Nothing wrong with that as such but when surface becomes the most important thing it is really problematic and we are not even supposed to argue that there would be a huge pile of problems, not the least intellectual ones and intellectual art claims to be which again is something one seriously should argue. When for example my art is seen through what I look like, when my appearance and origin tell people about what I do and think more than what I have to say, it is a perplexing paranoid situation of looking my work via my body and again a repetition of a pattern seen many times on. Sexism and misogyny faced and existing strongly without people noticing anything wrong with that picture, how stupid is that. Yes we are interested in feminism but we do not practice it in real life is the message. It is cute when women paint cute stuff, we can smile and feel happy about it.

 

Bodies online

Bodies online

Size of art: The things you can tell by choosing size. Playing with size is to play with our eyes, perception, attention and ways we are used to looking at things.

Importance of art, what is important art, where lies the interest when we look at art depending on what are we measuring when we measure art, what we look for, why art is there to be measured. We measure the price, fame, skill, connections, where the artist is based at and so forth. Why all the measuring and paying attention to surface is so important especially in art, or is it just the problem of this branch only? Obviously not. Seek to impress and making it get desperate when competition is heavy. Is it the social side behind desire and lust for grandiose there to be understood? Is it just pure greed and need for power? Art has to be placed or left out as are artists in or out? Question of size of art and what gets attention is always interesting. As an artist as I write about attention can mean it is I who wants attention. There is always the self-interest, suspicion, egoism which are attached to art, social aspects of doing the whole of art, business, publicity and talking about art. Big possibilities lure spineless crooks who wish to make the best profit there is possible to make.

Someone who seeks to be talked about, is that an artist? As an artist I seek that my work is talked about not me. When my exhibition is photographed do not take photos of me but of my work. I do not seek a personality cult by being an artist but rather have something to say than posing in a picture. This has been very difficult to grasp for many. Though at the moment I find internet art much more interesting to do and explore for many reasons. It lacks the stereotypes, assumptions and conventions of traditions of  fine art. I find that appealing, refreshing and new.

Same size problematics goes with architecture, thinking the bigger equals the better. The better and something good in the world of today is matter of magnitude, impact, conspicuousness, ability to make stature that impresses. To be impressed in an instant, to get an awe, be taken one’s breath away by something that has required skill to achieve is a goal by which art in traditional sense is seen and meaning of making art is to prove skill, professional and trustworthy, valuable in a world where machinery, factories, technical thinking prevail over everything as true signs of intellect, human abilities and are seen as male. Big size as a masculine feature is an all covering giant with its shadow to impress conquering attention and to win is like winning in sports. It is not unusual to own and aggressively protect that tradition in art by diminishing countering opinions. Dominance is the only way to do things in this kind of mental atmosphere. Anything small is pathetic and cute, seen as to be won, big is self-evidently good and acceptable, heavy and solid. What a horrible weakness that is to all of art and artists to seek massiveness in every way. It is to diminish and kill anything else which everything else would mean variety of points of views and ways of making.

Bodies online