It's a wierd year. We've got president Obama being given the nobel peace prize for, well, not being George Bush. Add to that, conservative talk show host Glenn Beck was recently named to the "Hot 100" list of the most influential people in the art world. True, he just made the list at number 100, but still, all I can say is WTF? The magazine ArtReview announced this morning its list of the art world's "Power 100" and several prominent L.A. names were among the illustrious, including Eli Broad (No. 7), Michael Govan (No. 40), Tim Blum and Jeff Poe (sharing No. 31). One of the most notable inclusions in this year's list is conservative political commentator Glenn Beck, who came in at No. 100. Beck's place on the list is no doubt due to his recent controversial foray into art criticism, when he lambasted art created for New York's Rockefeller Center. According to the magazine, entrants are "ranked according to a combination of influence over the production of art internationally, sheer financial clout (although in these times that’s no longer such a big factor) and activity in the previous 12 months – criteria which encompass artists, of course, as well as collectors, gallerists and curators." The No. 1 spot this year goes to Hans Ulrich Obrist, who is co-director of exhibitions and programs and director of international projects at London’s Serpentine Gallery. ArtReview described him as "a tireless advocate for contemporary art who operates close to the centre of a network of influential thinkers and agenda-setters. " The highest-ranking artist on the list is Bruce Nauman, who earlier this year received a Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale. ArtReview, which is based in the U.K., said that a third of last year’s entries have fallen off the list and were replaced with newcomers. Damien Hirst fell from first place last year to 48th this year, while Charles Saatchi also fell significantly. ArtReview ranks Eli Broad, Michael Govan, Glenn Beck among 'Power 100' October 15, 2009 Los Angelos Times
It makes sense WTF/IWW? Or .... WTF in what way? I mean, it makes sense. Beck is clearly an artist. The devious part of me would remind that both bullshit and television are media for artistic expression, but we need not actually go so far. Rare, indeed, is the observer who does not perceive at least some degree of exaggeration about Beck's performances, and performance is what he does. It's kind of like admitting professional wrestling is fake. Some people just have a hard time with it. But even Beck's most hard-willed and numb-skulled devotees recognize that gospel truth sometimes needs a helping hand. If Jon Stewart's Crossfire shakedown was comedy's foray into television journalism, then Beck is television journalism's reciprocal exploration. (Wolf Blitzer just wasn't funny enough.) So I don't think it's necessarily a matter of whether or not Beck is an artist, or part of the art world that should be confusing. Thus, the question of his influence. Now, before I ever had a clue who this guy was, his was the website that showed me the awesome 9/11 conspiracy theory with the folded currency. And, really, it is pretty cool, but, you know .... He's gone from being an idiot conspiracy theorist lunatic to being the nation's foremost idiot conspiracy theorist lunatic. That's quite a climb. And now he competes with Rush Limbaugh for control of the nation's idiot conspiracy theorist lunatic wing. That's a pretty big change. And he's a performance artist who is exercising some degree of influence over the political discourse in the United States. That counts for something. Lou Dobbs would appear on the list, too, if he, like Beck, simply admitted he was full of shit. ____________________ Notes: Booth, Dwayne. "I CNN see for miles and miles and miles". Catch of the Day. July 28, 2009. LAWeekly.com. October 15, 2009. http://blogs.laweekly.com/fish/2009/07/i_cnn_see_for_miles_and_miles.php
