The Anti-Authority Authority paradox

One of the most amusing things about an artist is how they pose for photographs. Do they smile? Scowl? Are they carefully posed or caught in the act? Have they given special care to their outfit? Hairdo? What about body language?

Photographs are necessariliy revealing because they involve presentation. In our image-conscious culture, how--and, more importantly, why--a person chooses to present themselves is crucial. The real question is whether or not presentation is the end or a means to an end.

You can probably already tell where this is heading. I despise the steely scowls, thuggish posturing, and glittering female bodies that fill up most music magazines; a divide between the artist and audience is created that defies the purpose of art. The signal sent from the artist to the reader is: "You're lucky to know me; I'm too cool to know you."

Although these "artists" supposedly lead anti-authority oriented lives, they set themselves up as authoriites on how to buck the system, on how to be "cool." But I think that goes against the spirit of art. Art is not about knowing anyhing, least of all about coercing others. Art is about searching. The best art is born out of experimentation and uncertainty. An authoritiative posturing can only deaden the vitality of art.