Cast Away

Chris Kraus “Cast Away”, Video Green: Los Angelos Art and The Triumph of Nothingness, New York: Semiotext(e), 2004, p145-p150.

Chris Kraus wrote ‘Cast Away’ in 2001 and it is contained in her 2004 publication: Video Green: Los Angeles Art and the Triumph of Nothingness. Video Green considers Los Angeles art and art school programs and their place in the international art scene.

“...anything is permissible ... so long as it is pedigreed, substantiated, referentialised.” (Kraus) p147

If art production is permissible by this definition, then perhaps it supports the credence given to the undertakings we present as students at Elam. After all, Elam as a school of art, justifies these efforts such that whatever form they take, they should be regarded as creditable offerings, worthy of our interpretation and elevation to the status of work (of art). We do. But are we too kind – or too cruel, to speak our mind?

Yet I observe that an aesthetic of what we bring to our work at Elam is a reflection of what occurs in the outside (contemporary art) world – imitation, although not taught per de Duve’s obsolete academic art school model (de Duve) p22 – occurs naturally through osmosis. Thus in my view, the next work, the banal image, the flimsy gesture, while lightly pedigreed, substantiated, or referentialised, will continue to inform our progress.

Therefore, in our practice, we actively seek to support Kraus’ view by fabricating these qualifications around our work such that they act as a scaffold, framing and supporting our work. If we were to fail to do this, our work might suffer the ignominy of being relegated as peripheral non-art.

Bibliography

de Duve, Thierry. “When Form Has Become Attitude - And Beyond.” (1994). Theory in contemporary art since 1945. Malden MA: Blackwell, 2005. pp 19 - 31.

Kraus, Chris. “Cast Away.” Video Green: Los Angelos Art and The Triumph of Nothingness. New York: Semiotext(e), 2004. pp 145 - 150.