Do artists only create for each other? Since Hegel, the idea of the end of art has become a staple of aesthetic theory. Will Post Art be the end of art? The concept of “Post Art” was developed by the happening artist Allan Kaprow, based on his idea that life is much more interesting than art, at the expense of art.
Post Art is not a point of no return and in fact there are many great artists who continue to make important art. But it was perhaps inevitable that “Post Art” would be attacked as non-elitistMarcel Duchamp called it “intellectual expression” over “animal expression”. This can be seen in art with the split between minimal-conceptual art and expressionism. Hopefully this will be the start of a conversation that will in turn cause many in the Art world to begin to question and change the status-quo.
Some believe artists should stop creating work for each other and draw in the general public again.This is basic engagement. Visual artists should be leading the cultural revolutions for society instead of just reacting to them. In his book The End Of Art, Donald Kuspit promotes the idea that fear and ignorance of the unconscious have created a climate of creative superficiality in which artists are unwilling to break though the surface of their minds to the uncomfortable waters that lie beneath.
Militarism and materialism, authoritarianism and capitalism, are more devastating than anything in the unconscious, even though they have roots in unconscious. Artists are scared of the inner truth about themselves, more particularly, about acknowledging psychic conflict and trauma as well as the primary creativity evidenced by fantasy (especially dreams).
The End Of Art also covers the genealogy of the Post Art aesthetic, from Duchamp through Warhol’s commercialism to Hirst’s installations, drawing upon preoccupations with banal objects and everyday life situations. Whereas modern art consist of revolutionary experiments motivated by a desire to express aspects of the newly-discovered “unconscious mind,”
Post Art, Kuspit argues, is shallow, unreflective and banality motivated by the desire to become institutionalized and famous.Hopefully this will appeal to anyone who has ever felt bamboozled by the productions of the postmodern establishment.The sad reality is that many artists are so steadfast in their own work and their own circle that it is difficult for them to see art on a macro scale. Sure artists will always be around, but are they revered? Are they appreciated? And more importantly, are they figureheads in society?”