Be Nice People, Be Nice to People (a critique of artists)

I often have wondered why 'serious' artists, as opposed to frivolous perhaps, are so pretentious. Is there something about the act, or thought processes involved in making serious contemporary art that makes the makers into such pretentious people.

The higher up the slippery contemporary gallery ladder, and the greater the bucks their 'works' achieve, the more arrogant, self important and ego stricken these Contemporary Artists seem to become. Perhaps the artists feel that they need to compete with their art works, to be as pretentious as them, outstrip them in their clamour for oddity and fame, or is that infamy. It is all raw ego.

The idea of Con Art, that is Contemporary Art as a confidence trick, is being muted about, and with each pretension gains more credence. Contemporary Art continues to divorce itself from the ordinary man, heaping up poorly understood philosophies and dabbling with psychologies and politics. Yes, DADA and Surrealism were there first. In those times there was shock value to DADA's collages, and Surrealism's juxtapositions, but no longer. Even the resurrected DADA calling itself Pop Art was but a pale copy of the original. We yawn at tanks with sharks or half cows, at piles of bricks being hailed as Art. The more academic the artwork the less it resonates with the less academic minds of the rest of us. Now Contemporary Art is rapidly becoming Con Art, and it's makers Con Men.

I had been at a gallery in Kuala Lumpur, assisting with some words for an interesting and friendly artist. In came a self important 'artist', a supposedly 'international' artist who evidently felt the glare of the grey gallery walls was too strong, as he kept his John Lennon/Yoko Ono sunglasses on as he brushed past me, leaving me holding out my business card to thin air. I was polite and proffered it a second time. He condescended to accept it. I held my peace, as Mr Ego is a client of the gallery's owner.

It was the second time, within minutes, that I had been reminded of the audacities of the art world. The first, was having seen another auction/gallery owner who is well known for his aggressive interactions with individuals he considers inferiors, as opposed to the fawning he undertakes with those with money and power. It was a healthy reminder that not all in the world of arts are nice people, or indeed people any honest artist/writer would want to be associated with, and it was not my first time to be looked down upon by the rich and famous.

There was that time in Liverpool, upon meeting one of my favourite Liverpool poets, who was more interested in himself and the girl I was with, than listening to me, his fan. Another time was in London, at a comic convention. I accidentally bumped into a TV personality and his friend - a well known DJ. They assumed I wanted autographs, I didn't. I wanted to rifle through the comic book boxes they were standing in front of. They left disappointed. I got the comics I wanted.

Fame, or imagined fame, does seem to go to some peoples' heads. They forget who put them where they are, and just how quickly all that fame and fortune can disappear. There are seasons to art, to personalities, to DJs and yes even poets. There is the old adage, be careful who you tread upon on the way up, because they will still be there, waiting, when you are in your way down. Be nice people, and be nice to people. I have not named names, deliberately, but they know who they are.