After many years of being immersed in the world of art - from
my first sale at the Washington Square Outdoor Art exhibit at age
18 to the end of my tenure as president of the Artists Federation
in 1996 - I have come to the conclusion that I have absolutely no
idea what contemporary art is all about.
I can't for the life of me understand why some works sell for
fabulous amounts while others end up in tawdry yard sales. What I
do know is that I love beauty and that means I have little
respect for today's world of art and fashion. Of course, there
are exceptions to every rule.
I don't believe I'm the only one befuddled by what becomes
popular art these days, and I feel most of the great artists of
the past could not succeed in this market. There are many who
feel like Tom Hanks's character in the TV comedy "Bosom
Buddies" when he mocked gallery-goers lauding a white canvas
with a large red circle in the center. "It's the flag of
Japan," he said, shaking his head in wonderment.
I've concluded that to succeed today an artist has to have a
famous name or a gimmick, rather than extraordinary talent. I'd
probably sell more paintings as a columnist than I did as a
dedicated artist. Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones just sold a
painting for a million dollars. Was it worth it? I don't know,
but I'll have a chance to judge this weekend, when his work will
be available at Artexpo New York 2007 in the Jacob Javits Center,
along with some work Jimi Hendrix created just before his death.
Paul Stanley of the rock group Kiss will be appearing Saturday
between 1 and 3 p.m. to sign his work, and another surprise guest
artist will be there this weekend.
Artexpo (artexpos.com) is the first exception to my disdain for
the current art industry. Granted, not all of the huge convention
center will be filled with great art, but there is definitely
something to please everyone.
This year, the exhibit will also be providing a public service.
One of the most despicable actions public school administrators
do when asked to trim the fat in their budgets is to cut the arts
and music programs. A hundred public school students will be at
Artexpo exhibiting self-portraits in the "I am an
artist" program designed to show the public the necessity of
arts education in the school system.
The fair also presents the opportunity to collect the works of
emerging artists before their prices become astronomical.
As for fashion? In my opinion, Fashion Week inevitably proves -
like the ad says - that women have come a long way.
Unfortunately, that applies only to their choice of cigarettes,
not their obeisance to dictatorial fashion gurus. It seems that
every year women refuse to acknowledge that most of the hot
fashions that might attract taste-challenged Hollywood starlets
are totally unwearable for real women. It's painful to watch the
expressions on the near-anorexic models strutting down the runway
in what can only be described as painfully uncomfortable
costumes. Beautiful clothes should make the wearer feel
glamorous, not self-conscious.
Thus, here's my second exception to my antipathetic view of the
world of fashion. Tuesday evening at Cipriani, the More
Magazine/Wilhemina 40+ Model Search finals took place. Hosted by
film star Angela Bassett, who expressed pride in her 48 years,
the pageant featured 10 finalists. They were beautiful women with
flesh on their bones - but, more then that, they wore their
beauty and age with pride in their fit bodies. Three of the
contestants were doctors, one was a CEO, another was a director
of a nonprofit, and one was a grandmother of 56. All were
accomplished women. The contestants' lives will be detailed in
the June issue of More, the editor of the magazine, Peggy
Northrop, said.
The women bounced down the runway, grinning and thoroughly
enjoying wearing the beautiful clothes by Carmen Marc Valvo, one
of the few designers to create fashion for the real women who buy
haute couture. In fact, his designs lent so much to the
exuberance of the crowd that after the show was over, soap opera
star Kassie DePaiva of "One Life to Live" expressed
interest in Mr. Valvo's designs for her show. As a woman older
than 40, Ms. DePaiva said she found his designs elegant,
wearable, and classic, yet original. Who could argue with that?
That both of these industries are flourishing regardless of
anyone's approval can mean only one thing: Our economy is just
fine, Mr. Greenspan.