That said, anybody who doesn’t find streams of inspiration at the Frieze Art Fair in London, has either become a snob in the face of snobs, carries a tremendous chip on their shoulder or submits to the violence that is the sum of the parts of all this input.

A few weeks back I visited the art fair circuit in London. First day I spent at Frieze (after a great tour with Steve and Anna where we hit several small galleries), next one at Pulse and while I heard great things about the Zoo fair, overload is overload and finally many pints were needed.

We all know the similarities in promoting a politician and building a Hollywood celebrity. We know that Presidents and Film stars have to be in character even when they are not on screen. Still, we always hope that what we hold up as ‘art’ will have that sense of honor and conviction that the rest of our mediatized aesthetics lack. But does it?

What was Courtney Love doing there? Can new hardware rammed into a sexy old frame be considered ‘cutting edge’ art? Are her tits real? Does it matter? The line between gimmick and authentic blood is much more fragile than the huge crack the Tate Modern was boasting during the times of the fairs (yes, a tourist did fall in), and while I like trash … smashing a machine to smithereens should be (a) free for all … suddenly it’s a concept … at least this one doesn’t need a text to explain it. Others do, and then, why should we care? I did dig the Hairy Krishnas though … they at least put some metal onto the marble floors.

www.friezeartfair.com
www.zooartfair.com
www.pulse-art.com

Here are some pictures from London, courtesy of Steve Smith.