Thursday, February 25, 2010

Pierre Menard Author of the Hot Tub

cultural melting bath: project for the 20th century 1997.
18 taihu rocks, hot tub with hydrotherapy jets, bathwater infused with herbs, and pine trees
collection of fonds national d'art contemporain
photo by hiro ihara courtesy cai studio


This goes to show that Borges as always was right. I have this hobby that entails making up fake artworks by known artists. As we know, those that cannot make art, teach art history. This is part of the explanation. When my genius recovering art historian friend read my recent description of my fantasy Tino Seghal intervention to create a hybrid relational aesthetics slash CAA panel he reminded me that the relational aesthetics work involving people chatting in a hot tub had already been done! Above, documentation of Chinese art star Cai Guo Quiang's Cultural Melting Bath.

My panel proposal abstract reads like this:
Tino Seghal: Relational Aesthetics in the Hot Tub.Abstract: Envisioned as a space of sociability, the hot tub is a classic locus of exchange. In this panel, we invite artists, art historians, and museum workers to submit topics for conversation in this platform for experimental thought.

Originality is dead! Did I not read Benjamin, or Robbe-Grillet? Woe is me. Always arriving to the hot tub. Too late. And anyway, if we are going to keep to art historical chronology, we have Cai and then The Jersey Shore as relational art works employing the hot tub....

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