 "Photo: Molly Raskin")
In these uncertain times, technology is everywhere. At our grocery stores, where the automated checkout kiosk persistently tells us to “place item in bagging area;” at our libraries, where automated theft detectors demand we hand over the book we’ve already checked out; and, more and more, at our museums. Video art is not a new medium. However, the Guggenheim is giving this well-established mode of creation a new technological twist: youtube.
The famed New York museum’s new program is entitled “Youtube Play,” and it is, essentially, a mainstream, commercialized video art contest. Sponsored by H.P. and Intel, the idea is that youtubers submit their videos to the “Youtube Play” channel, and the top 20 to 25 will be displayed at the Guggenheim.
A few weeks ago I wrote about the new Bravo series, Work of Art. I was torn between the importance of preserving the dignity of the art world and the sheer entertainment value found in destroying it. Here, I face a similar conundrum. Never, in my wildest dreams, would I have pegged the youtube community as a birthplace of credible video art. In my experience, it is a medley of Top 100 music videos, homespun satirical skits, and my little sister’s acapella group’s performances. In no way do I associate it with the fine art world. It is a cesspool of bubblegum media.
And yet. Let us consider Andy Warhol. Let us consider Jeff Koons. Both draw heavily from pop culture and, in doing so, create a legitimate dialogue about the relationship between high and low art, between magazine ads and museum pieces. So, is it possible that what appears to be a commercialized attempt to democratize the art world by making it reductively accessible and user-friendly, is actually a revolutionary step toward the future of art and its relationship to technology, community and society? Or is this the beginning of the end, yet another step away from legitimate artists and toward the trivialization of the art world for public consumption?
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