By Leith Eaton
Having raised my family on my own as an Artist in the midst of challenging times, I have nonetheless totally dedicated my work to uplifting Mankind through the use of Art as a Universal Language. As the founder of the International Arts Association, I have furthered my quest on a much broader scale. On my journey, the most challenging of obstacles is the fact that in recent history, noted Art Figures, Juries, Critics and Museums have promoted Pornography to be Art that it is not Art at all. The definition of pornography is “that without Art”. Why is it that the highest-paid living Artists are producing pornographic replacements for Art and why is it that our State-operated Art Museums are promoting these replacements for Art? Lucian Freud is one of the highest paid living Artists and I appreciate his technique because my technique, Scintillism, has some similarities to his dry brush technique. Freud’s work was recently exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. I was invited to attend the exhibit by one of the members of the International Arts Association who was a former professor of Otis and Parsons. As I was viewing the 300 pound nude transvestites and other works I looked around at the shock and dismay of adults and children alike who were disturbed by the perversity of the exhibition. One of the docents who was giving a tour was asked why the works were so perverse. The docent was at a loss for words. I felt sorry for the docent and it was truly a sad commentary for The Museum and for the state of affairs in The Art World in general.
As a fellow Artist, my intention is not to undermine the talent or ability of another Artist, and I am certainly far from being a prude however this is being written to point out that in order to get ahead in today’s Art World it appears as if one must compromise his or her values and produce something that is perverse and shocking, forgetting to produce the true essence of Art. For instance the Artist Eves Klein’s painting was sold for over $1,000,000 at auction. It was done by covering nude bodies in paint and asking them to smear their bodies on the canvas. There should be some sort of distinction between pornography, freedom of expression and Art. Freedom of expression is one thing, however, what about Art for Arts sake? Anything perverse cannot be artistic. It can be graphic, but not artistic! In some of our State-operated Museums there are exhibitions with American Flags being stuffed in a toilet seat and where the public is being invited to walk on the Flag and write down their comments. Again I ask is this Art for Art’s sake? No, this is not Art. It may be a form of expression, however in my opinion it is not art. Several years ago I attended an exhibition in New York at PS1 where one of the exhibits was of human intestines strung all over the room. Is this Art? There are many exhibits that have gruesome and pornographic subjects and again I understand that this is a form of expression, but I believe we need to label it as something other than Art and recognize it as a tool of expression that is similar to a picket or protest sign or a commercial product trying to solicit a certain way of thinking or action. It simply is not Art for Art's sake and our noted Art Figures, Juries, Critics and Museums should not be promoting them that way. I am hoping that especially after September 11, 2001 that there s a new awareness of the importance of values not only in our society as a whole but also the Society of Art.
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