State of the Art

Kent Mueller

In this column I'll be looking at the changing state of the visual arts around the world. What I will not be doing is reviewing individual exhibits, although I might dwell on one here or there if it bears directly on the topic at hand. For one thing I don't want to focus on individual artists; rather on more general trends that have an effect on everyone in the visual arts world. For another thing I'm an art dealer, so the temptation to plug the artists I represent is overwhelming. It's bad enough that I plug my gallery by suggesting you link to KM art at the end of each monthly column. Please don't do that now. It will only annoy my editor and you will gain no insight. What follows is a series of synopsis (synopsii?) of proposed future columns guaranteed to turn your prose purple. Your input is more than appreciated, it's tossed in with all the other factors, so email me, Kent Mueller, with your complaints, suggestions, ideas, contributions, snipes and gossip.

Some Future Columns

Where are all the artists going? Being in art school at the turn of the millenium is (maybe) the hippest thing there is, and then you're an artist. Now what? The schools are cranking out more graduates with art degrees than ever before, but the traditional art markets are flat, currency transient and uncertain, collecting art isn't hip like it was in the '80s, and it's unhip to make art that can be sold. What can you do? Get lucky.

The Mortgage Rate of the New Bohemia. All over the world artists repeatedly pioneer new neighborhoods for real estate speculators, often investing a small fortune in improvements on improvised spaces of dubious legality. Then the condos arrive and it's time to move on. How can artists stop this vicious cycle and create neighborhoods where they can stay put? Buy the place; it may be easier than you think. Cheap and tolerable places to live. This article will need updating once a year, and your input is needed.

One Kind of Art. It's been awhile, ever since pop and its many children knocked abstract art off of its pedestal, but now part of that lineage, according to some, is aiming for dominance as the art movement. Can conceptual art conquer the world? Is art made with actual materials on the way out? Is Wesley Kilmer right? Is anybody wrong here? Hmmm.

And once again, I want to emphasize that your input is more than appreciated, it's tossed in with all the other factors.