Professional Practice - Labor and Capital

All That Glitters Ain't Gold 

I had to refresh my mind as to what exactly constituted the Gilded Age after reading the Ben Davis quote “No, artists aren’t the winners of the new gilded age”, at Artnet News. For some reason I always associate fake gold plaited necklaces with the word gilded. There are not many context where I find my self contemplating the word gilded, however when I do it usually conjures a specific type of person or persons who would have dealings involving the handling of fake gold jewelry under false pretense and is most often a scenario where someone has been, is now, or will be slighted. The disappointment resulting from the failed fulfillment of false expectation. Albeit an expectation ripened by the lure of a shiny veneer. What I'm getting at here, is that artist need not approach the art world industry "thinking shit is sweet". It's no different than any other corporate capitalist entity and any involvement in which need not be under any false presumption of  equity; at least not under the basis of equity alone. Make no mistake there is always something to be gained. Put plainly, even the intangible, social capital and intellectual property are traded and sourced as commodities. The thing to consider here, and I think Bob was making this point in class is that these institutions serve to sustain social structures of inequality. Knowing that, artist shouldn't be surprised when the powers that be refuse to relinquish even a portion of their power if it at all undermines their authority.  An authority rooted in the bottom-line. Like everyones parents has said to them on one occasion or another prompted from the question why?, in regards to a demand or an order. The reply was often "because I said so". Even if in actuality the parent was wrong. The vary notion of questioning their authority was quickly squelched. Art provides a forum. A place where  alternatives can be activated, to borrow an adjective from Caroline Woolard. The activation promotes reflection and reflection to consideration and sometimes implementation with a potentiality of full on adaptation. Alas, this type of endeavor does not always pay the bills and why should it? Why is there an expectation that these programs would operate any differently? Artist who make it big are no different from superstars in other fields. They made it because they hit the lottery, had the resources or garnered the most recognition. Using art as a gesture toward social change is a nobel undertaking, but artist would be remised lest they forget the work is merely a gesture to begin with. To that I say, don’t quit your day job.