Re: <documenta X><blast> navigating the space of public art

Morgan Garwood (mgarwood@inch.com)
Wed, 27 Aug 1997 18:45:40 -0400

>Artist: I need a box of 100 pushpins for my project.
>Bureaucrat: Our institution doesn't use pushpins, the official
>paper-sticker-upper is red tape. However, since pushpins are the sole
>material which serves a specific function without which your project could
>not be realized, we can accommodate your request for pushpins.
>A: Thanks. I prefer the clear plastic type.
>B: We're terribly sorry, but in compliance with the State of California
>Environmental Freeze on non-post-consumer plastics, we are unable to issue
>a purchase order for clear plastic pushpins.

George Soros is driving this mentality-species crazy because he is blowing
past them without so much as a wave of acknowledgment... no serious
political contender dared question the wisdom of the *war on drugs* in
america. It would be political suicide. He recognized that institutional
agendas may be a result of perverse logics that have a lot more to do with
the preservation of the institution that the public function of said
institution. So, a new political concept has floated to the surface, "third
rail" issues, meaning, in the sense of the electrified third rail of the
subway system, you so much as touch it, and you are politically instantly
dead. His attitude is that he gets the most social leverage by grabbing the
third rail firmly with both hands, and then daring anyone to have the
political guts to touch him.... the guy plays a fierce game... why can't
more billionaires think like this?

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documenta X Kassel and http://www.documenta.de 1997
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