Nihilism Never Goes Out of Style...?

[amateriat]

Somehow, I thought that stories like this weren't likely to be heard much of again. (Silly me.) Watching someone burn out at terminal velocity is never fun, regardless of the circumstances, but stories like Dash Snow's read out in articles like Art as Extreme Sport. There's always been that aspect of the art world, but what gets me is that it now seems the only part paid attention to, for reasons perhaps irritatingly obvious. I have witnessed people with too much money and too little sense of direction buy their way to an early mortal checking-out, but they never made the pages of New York, ArtForum or Bomb (Fred, correct on the last one if necessary). I'm neither dancing on Snow's grave nor mourning uncontrollably; I'm trying to nail down the current state of Art Spectacle as media magnet, and whether that magentism is fueled by some form of virulent nostalgia for The Way Things Were (say, roughly between 1964 and 1998) in the art word in general, and the New York art galaxy in particular.

(Maybe watching that video the other night about Sam Wagstaff and Robert Mapplethorpe got to me a bit.)


- Barrett

 

[Nescio]

Amateriat,
Nice read alongside my Sunday morning coffee at the other side of the Atlantic. What follows are some thoughts on your writing and the NYT article.

You probably agree that Art - any art - is not an absolute category, but a label put on things made by man according to ruling society values. Hence the often made assertion that any artists’ work should reflect the state of his particular hic et nunc, be it affirmative or critical. At the same time, inevitably, it’s society that determines whether someone’s an artist or not. The article in the NYT makes this point very clear, (un)consciously, when stating: “The art world was not yet settled on whether Mr. Snow was an important artist, a young talent with promise or a reckless pretender. (…) Benjamin Godsill, a curatorial associate at the New Museum, said Mr. Snow’s work “captures this period bracketed by the fall of the World Trade Center and the fall of the financial system.”
The other side of the story is identifying somebody’s acts & facts as a work of art. While I’m not a specialist on the theme, I’d say the first great advocate of this idea was Joseph Beuys, though others might come up with other twentieth century heroes or reach even further back for Baudelaire or Byron. When getting to the 2nd part of the article - obviously, I never heard of Dash Snow before (what’s in a name…) - it becomes clear that he was nothing more (or less) than a rich kid helter-skeltering into the abyss. The point is - as to respond to your question - that the poor fellows’ life & death are taken as an exemplum of what our western society is going through. It’s here that the artists’ origins get a wider sense. And only if both these, looking back from the future, are to become an important judgment of our times, Mr. Snow (or any other with a similar curriculum) might as well get his place in the pantheon of enlightened poètes maudits.
Before this brick becomes a wall, I’ll finish off saying that nostalgia is and always has been a very strong sentiment of both man and society. If you feel that NY art circles are getting into this game, it may be just another toy to play with, but otherwise recalling the glorious past of American post WW II art (coinciding with the politic and economic splendour of the USA) might as well turn into an avant-garde vision of things to come. However, don’t take this all too seriously. As a European, I’m decadent by definition.

My two cents of scepticism, the antechamber of nihilism (once I opened that door and shut it very quickly. But of course I’m not an artist).

Jeroen

 

[retnull]

It's not surprising that the media latches on to a young artist's death, especially if it so closely resembles so many classic crash-and-burn tales. As a tabloid news item, it's perfect: wealth, fame, sex, drugs, tragedy. All cultures love their myths, and myths need to be told and retold.

Aside from generating media, what did Dash Snow accomplish? Better to look at the images themselves, and decide for yourself:
http://bit.ly/4aP1ep

 

[Morca007]

Why should it go out of style? It goes with anything.

 

[Nescio]

Retnull, thanks for the link!

Strong stuff, certainly not making him a "parishilton" of our time, as the NYT affirmes. Especially the polairoids, eh! On the other hand, nothing new really, if that ought to be the criterium. He reminds me more of Araki before he got famous than of Terry Richardson.

Oh, one more thing. I'm probably getting old fashioned at full speed, but for me a "myth" still is something else. (And yes, I know; going through the classifieds there are xxx "muses" waiting for you at your local 'round the corner brothel)

 

[MCTuomey]

what we know of his life seems to fit the icarus/baudelaire/burroughs category, at least in part, doesn't it? we'll never know whether he'd become a mapplethorpe or pollack - he checked out. why? maybe he simply went as far as he could, knew it, and was done.

i guess the inspiration of the dionysian will always exist, but surely no one can live there for long.

 

[aad]

What one sacrifices for art is often more important than art.

 

[Oscar Levant]

He probably qualified for a spot on this website:

http://www.hotchickswithdouchebags.com/

A Google image search is illuminating:

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=dash+snow&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2

.

 

[MCTuomey]

What one sacrifices for art is often more important than art.

i'm sure that his daughter and her mother will agree.

 

[climbing_vine]

I'd argue that it cannot go out of style, because it is simply a fact of life. People end, and we're by turns fascinated and repulsed by people who seem to be less conscious or less fearful (two very different things) of that fact than we are.

"Nihilism" has meant a lot of things to a lot of people in a lot of different contexts so, like "conservativism" or "liberalism" it's hard to argue about--it's used more as a convenient bludgeoning label than anything else. A favorite of people with axes to grind so that they can continue to shift the unstable footing of any ensuing debate.

 

[35mmdelux]

A self-absorbed rich kid junkie.

 

[MCTuomey]

A self-absorbed rich kid junkie.

... with a polaroid camera, scissors, paste, cardboard, and old newspapers who had the savvy/insight/urge/encouragement to document his self-destruction. narcissism, or whatever we want to call it, is never out of style. and the popular press looovvvvves to sell it.

a neighbor and friend of mine lost her eldest child to a drug overdose last year. recrminations and accusations aside, and they are a sideshow imho, it is heart-rending to watch a loved one self-destruct. the rich aren't immune to loss, they just do it in better clothes.

 

[Trius]

"Did Mr. Snow ever escape the East Side pedigree that caused him so much anguish? How long does someone have to live their life before they fully possess it? "

The second question would better be:

How does someone live their life before they fully possess it?

I do not discount that one's pedigree, one's alienation (child abuse by psychological abandonment), one's lack of responsibility engendered by indulgence as powerful forces. But in the end, we make our own decisions and choices. Mr. Snow acted on his beliefs about who he was, not what had happened to him growing up. Those beliefs were an illusion, he just did not know it.

 

[xayraa33]

what a silly waste of a human life.

 

[Benjamin]

what a silly waste of a human life.

and that's just living.