[Si] TV

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I went to visit a friend in Chicago this past weekend and one of my favorite things to do when visiting a new city is to check out art galleries. Chicago has a great one-the Art Institute of Chicago and I spent many hours checking out the various displays. One display I did not find too interesting though was a stack of candy in a corner. Now, I don’t mean to say anything too bad about this piece of “art” but I really do have a problem with a lot of modern art that consists of one brush stroke on a canvas or a toilet in the middle of the room. Let’s take into consideration the latest story about the Yale college student who was inseminating herself and then aborting herself and using the aborted “material” as an art project. That to me does not say art. That says “effing lunatic who is using her pent up rage at men or society to try to pull one over on her art professors.”

I don’t profess to be an art critic, but I have studied a little bit about art and I do have my favorites. I really like Matisse, some of the pre-Raphaelites, especially Waterhouse and even though Gauguin was an alcohol and died of syphilis, I love his work. And it isn’t all modern art that I dislike mind you, just the art that doesn’t seem to have a point. Maybe I’m too simple to get some modern art, but if it looks like my 4 year old niece could have done it, then I don’t see the point of paying millions of dollars for it. If it looks like something I could have excreted from an orifice, it doesn’t seem like art to me. If an animal could have done it, once again NOT ART! If, on the other hand, it evokes some deep emotional response, and I don’t mean “what the fuck is this shit?” then I probably consider it art. But let me get back to the art exhibit I saw in Chicago. It is from an American born Cuban artist who piled candy on the floor and wants people to take pieces of the candy to represent his boyfriend’s wasting body as he died of AIDS. WHAAAT??? I could have done the same exhibit and called it…”The pounds I have lost and gained during my lifetime” or “The number of tears I’ve cried while watching Hallmark commercials” or some other such crapola. I don’t mean to minimize this guy’s pain but let’s be real here. A pile of freakin’candy? Couldn’t he have come up with something better? At least Andy Warhol had a Campbell’s soup can. Hell, Andy Warhol was the king of marketing himself as a pop art genius. Warhol is the man who came up with the “fifteen minutes of fame” quote that is so widely used to describe most of TV reality stars, one hit wonders, etc. these days. Although he was a controversial figure, at least he made his mark in the art world for creating something new and original. I'm not sure that I this "candy art" guy will be remembered 30 years from now. Although I was really hungry while at the museum and taking several pieces of candy did help until I was able to leave and get some delicious Chicago deep dish pizza. So for that I thank candy art man.