Posted by Dan Ewert : 12/12/2003 12:33:00 AM (Archive Link)
The Artful Blader

The above reminds me of a time in Austin, TX, almost six years ago. I was walking down the main street with all the book stores and such across from UT-Austin when this odd-looking on rollerblades rolled right up to me, gave me a small magazine with pictures of all sorts of modern art-ish looking thing and proceeded to discuss art with me. She was representing an art commune on the outskirts of the city (yes, this is in Texas… Austin is a very strange city and probably the least “Texan” of the many places I’ve visited in the state) and they were having a public show the following weekend. She rattled on about how significant the pieces were and how they all made points because in her view all art had to make a point, whether it be political, moral, or what have you. No art for art’s sake here. I was polite and engaged her in a little conversation, declined the invitation since I wasn’t going to be in town at the time of the show (not that I would have gone anyway), but wished her luck all the same. Then she asked for $5 for the magazine. This took me by surprise since it appeared the paper itself was more valuable than its content. I refused and handed it back to her at which point her demeanor became considerably less friendly and she rolled on. Perhaps she blamed me for repressing artistic expression, but my monetary expression simply wasn’t interested.