ACQUISITIONS 32

reading
Scared To Death - Christopher Booker & Richard North
Nymphomania, A History - Carol Groneman
The Pagan Book Of Days - Nigel Pennick
Men And Pandas - Desmond Morris

listening 
Make Me Ugly Plz - Yeon Bun Hong (CD album)
Robespierre - Effetto Joule (12")
LIFE NOTE - Hong Jin Young (mini-album)
I Abused Animal - Heather Leigh (LP)

viewing
The Jinx
The Suspicious Housemaid
Confessions (2010)
UFC 193

ACQUISITIONS 31
ACQUISITIONS 30
ACQUISITIONS 29

ACQUISITIONS 25

reading
House Of Psychotic Women - Kier-la Janisse
Waiting To Be Heard - Amanda Knox
The Soccer Tribe - Desmond Morris
How Not To Run A Club - Peter Hook

listening
Beatnadel - AGF (CD)
Live At Golden Pudel Club - Benjamin Brunn (CD)
White Car - s/t (12") 
Xenon - New (LP)

viewing
City/Ruins (Aaron Vilk) 
La Casa Muda (Gustavo Hernández)
UFC 162

ACQUISITIONS 24
ACQUISITIONS 23
ACQUISITIONS 22

ACQUISITIONS 5

reading
The Naked Man - Desmond Morris
Against The Odds - Peter L. Bernstein
Zodiac - Robert Graysmith

listening
Music For Strange Situations - Alessandro Alessandroni & Nora Orlandi
Il Profumo Della Signora In Nero - Nicola Piovani
Perfume - Triangle

viewing
Grande Occhio
Perfume - First Tour : Game
Les Statues Meurent Aussi

ACQUISITIONS 4
ACQUISITIONS 3
ACQUISITIONS 2
ACQUISITIONS 1

ACQUISITIONS 4

reading
Monkey Portraits - Jill Greenberg
Owl - Desmond Morris
The Whisperers - Orlando Figes
Freakshow - Albert Goldman

listening
Familial Readings - Luke Fowler + Toshiya Tsunoda
From The Hip - Ischio Romantico
Emmanuelle OST - Pierre Bachelet
The Monster Of Florence - Douglas Preston

viewing
Collapse
Executions
Louis Theroux Behind Bars
Louis Theroux At The Brothel

ACQUISITIONS 3
ACQUISITIONS 2
ACQUISITIONS 1

SIGNAL TO NOISE 7

VII : Signal To Noise

This kind of grand aesthetic theorising invariably lands me into hot water, especially after implicitly accusing somebody's favourite artist of having impure intent. Nevertheless, two things: firstly, this is objective theory, not subjective - what you or I personally enjoy seeing or listening to isn't at issue; and secondly, this isn't an argument for snobbery - intent is being judged on its own terms, that is (in this case) artistically speaking. If, on the other hand, one's intent (through art) is to get laid, then fair enough, but the measure of the work is going to be notches carved in your bedstead and no more; likewise, if the super-objective is to make money, then let's measure it in dollars.

In mediaeval times and much earlier, being a musician or painter or sculptor was a specialised vocation with extremely limited opportunities that required an enormous personal commitment. Compare that to our current age where nearly everyone has easy instant access to technological and educational resources for creativity, whether it be visual arts, writing, or making music; moreover, zero commitment is asked for. Naturally, it would be churlish to resent that kind of universal opportunity - if people are having fun with it, then so much the better. The price paid for that is that floodgates for all types of lazy intent are opened, most concerned with non-artistic gratification, which in turn means the very nature of artistic endeavour has been altered, perhaps irreversibly, to the extent that any nascent pure form is effectively drowned by the numerically vastly superior impure forms. Aversion therapy by default.

In a huge room full of everyone talking at once, how can we possibly ascertain if there's anything significant being said? And how can there be meaningful expression in such an environment?

William Bennett (2009)

SIGNAL TO NOISE 1

I : Congo

That the chimps' natural habitats are dwindling by the day thanks to incursions and encroachments by voraciously parasitical humans is bad enough. (Why do I care? Why would anyone care that I care? Probably because that somebody cares a bit too much about the human race than they'd care to admit.) And I say bad enough because from the other perspective, so many who take it upon themselves to protect and care for the chimps, cannot cure themselves of their nauseating and patronising maternalism and missionary zeal, just like that vile Mother Teresa woman.

I'm referring to a recent type of political correctness in zoos and ape sanctuaries not to allow chimpanzees stimulation of human origin - for example dressing up in clothes, furniture, tea parties, children's toys, television, brushes and paints, and so on. I say give the chimps back their fucking paints, you bastards! Really, you can see the joy that these and other stimuli give, it enriches their lives enormously. Read Desmond Morris' Animal Days, or Roger Fouts' extraordinary Next Of Kin (My Conversations With Chimpanzees), if you need more convincing. I'd confidently aver that Congo's capable of much better more expressive art than any single candidate ever entered into the Turner Prize (and by the way, if one of Congo's paintings comes up at auction any time soon, I shall be bidding on it).

continue to part 2