I won't miss the Bush/Oil/War protest art!

sun4all · Post by **sun4all** » Mon Nov 10, 2008 1:32 pm

One thing that has really turned me off on Burning Man these past several years has been the all the Bush/Oil/War protest art. I go to Burning Man to get away from all that stuff. I also live in a very political area (the Bay Area) and get really sick of the constant whining. It's so great that Obama is going to be President. Here's to really amazing Burning Man art sans all the political stuff!

p.s. I make and participate in Burning Man art!

bdeywoo · Post by **bdeywoo** » Mon Nov 10, 2008 3:26 pm

Ya it will be nice that no one will complain about Obama's decisions....

Uhhhh right.

goathead · Post by **goathead** » Mon Nov 10, 2008 3:37 pm

sun4all wrote:One thing that has really turned me off on Burning Man these past several years has been the all the Bush/Oil/War protest art. I go to Burning Man to get away from all that stuff. I also live in a very political area (the Bay Area) and get really sick of the constant whining. It's so great that Obama is going to be President. Here's to really amazing Burning Man art sans all the political stuff!

p.s. I make and participate in Burning Man art!

It will probably take a couple years MORE before it goes away....

I love BMIR's music, interviews, but I just want to crush the FUCKING RADIO
when the political shit starts....

HEY BMIR IF I WANTED TO LISTEN TO POLITICAL CRAP I WOULD HAVE STAYED FUCKING HOME.....

Teo del Fuego · Post by **Teo del Fuego** » Mon Nov 10, 2008 4:34 pm

totally agree...give me a one week break from all that crap and feed my eyes and mind with something new and otherworldly. Yes, I too create art for BM

Simon of the Playa · Post by **Simon of the Playa** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 6:22 am

Yes, lets tell people what we want to see.....

let's make a definition of what is and what is not art based on the whims of a few.

lets discriminate against the political, and only feature stuff that ted* likes.

*maybe he can wear a dress and carry a polka dot umbrella and call himself lady bee too!! oops, i mean Lady Bee II

Captain Goddammit · Post by **Captain Goddammit** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 7:57 am

That's a two-way street; one one side, people don't want to be told what kind of art to bring. On the other, people want to give their reactions to it.

I'll join in and say I also really hate the political stuff at Burning Man. I too go there to escape all that for a week and that stuff fucks it up a little.

That's OK keep it up. I'll just make sure to vote FOR whatever or whoever you're against. That's where your annoying tactics fuck your own self.

Simon of the Playa · Post by **Simon of the Playa** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 8:13 am

i agree too, to an extent, i was just extra snarkey this morning, but i would like remind everyone that politics can be a motivator as well as subject for great works of art, "Guernica" by pablo Picasso comes to mind as well as many of the works of Goya.

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 9:36 am

Whiners.

Dork · Post by **Dork** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 1:02 pm

Yeah - the moment Obama gets into office he'll fold his arms, nod his head, and all wars will end. Oil companies will stop being greedy. The economy will return to its previous glory. Nobody else will lose their house. The budget will balance. Extremist groups will stop blowing things up. The planet will cool.

By the time August rolls around everyone will forget there are problems and the art will be all happy and abstract.

I like the political stuff, even the stuff I don't agree with. I don't like plenty of other things out there, but I figure you have to take the good with the bad.

bigbluedoggy · Post by **bigbluedoggy** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 2:51 pm

Dork wrote:Yeah - the moment Obama gets into office he'll fold his arms, nod his head, and all wars will end.

Don't forget that twitch of the nose and tug on the earlobe thing.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 3:46 pm

Guernica. *shrug*

wedeliver · Post by **wedeliver** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 5:05 pm

Dork wrote:Yeah - the moment Obama gets into office he'll fold his arms, nod his head, and all wars will end. Oil companies will stop being greedy. The economy will return to its previous glory. Nobody else will lose their house. The budget will balance. Extremist groups will stop blowing things up. The planet will cool.

By the time August rolls around everyone will forget there are problems and the art will be all happy and abstract.

I like the political stuff, even the stuff I don't agree with. I don't like plenty of other things out there, but I figure you have to take the good with the bad.

About the above, my dad used to say, "from your mouth to gods ears"! We can hope for a more peaceful future. I agree about art, art is art. don't matter what the art is, some art I like, some I don't, not quite that simple because some of the art I don't like, I like, but in the end, art is art is art and that why I go to burningman.

(cause that foxy, hottie next door is a fucking work of art and them boots....)

Captain Goddammit · Post by **Captain Goddammit** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 5:43 pm

Dork wrote:Yeah - the moment Obama gets into office he'll fold his arms, nod his head, and all wars will end. Oil companies will stop being greedy. The economy will return to its previous glory. Nobody else will lose their house. The budget will balance. Extremist groups will stop blowing things up. The planet will cool.

This is my biggest problem with the Obamites. He's being put so high up on a pedestal that there's no way he can possibly live up to the hype. Not that I don't like him (none of us really know yet!) but it's like he's being heralded as the savior of the world. There's only so much the Prez can do.

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 6:07 pm

Captain Goddammit wrote:
Dork wrote:Yeah - the moment Obama gets into office he'll fold his arms, nod his head, and all wars will end. Oil companies will stop being greedy. The economy will return to its previous glory. Nobody else will lose their house. The budget will balance. Extremist groups will stop blowing things up. The planet will cool.
This is my biggest problem with the Obamites. He's being put so high up on a pedestal that there's no way he can possibly live up to the hype. Not that I don't like him (none of us really know yet!) but it's like he's being heralded as the savior of the world. There's only so much the Prez can do.

yeah, Cap'n......I agree.
his biggest supporters seem to be digging a hole, of sorts, IMHO. With the adulation and adoring aspects and powers they ascribe to him, if he can't pretty much change the world as a whole, they've got a lot of backpeddling and excusing to do....and, that, it would seem, puts them in the position of their rivals, making excuses for the messiah.......

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Wed Nov 12, 2008 9:49 am

All he has to be is be smarter than Bush. Gee, big challenge.

Arminius · Post by **Arminius** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 7:34 am

I am not an advocate of censorship. But I would prefer that people leave their politics at home. American politics is such a divisive issue I feel that it fractures people into groups. Rather than contributing to the over all sense of community. I have no desire to see anti-Bush art or anti-Obama art at an alleged communal event. This is just my opinion, but I suspect that many of the people who think hanging President Bush in effigy is an exercise in freedom of speech will view a similar protest against President Obama as a hate crime

I think that people who drag their political soap box around everywhere are just as annoying as the bible thumpers who feel the need to share their unwelcome religious beliefs. I was at a regional burn a couple of years ago. Where some guests in my camp started vomiting out their politics. It was a downer. I have have my own politics. But I have the good manners to leave them back in the world where they belong.

Zulegoona · Post by **Zulegoona** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 6:59 pm

Iâ€™m not particularly enamored by a lot of political art,.... well that's not completely true in my pursuit of making APKILIPTIKA posters Iâ€™ve researched and down-loaded many, many propaganda posters from around the world. I have gained a real appreciation of the emotional / psychological approaches used, they give a real feeling of the mindset of people of the times.

The non state sponsored political art we see at Burning Man also says something not only about the issues and the passions of the artists but about the people it is intended to move. The best political art does not only preach to the choir and reinforce a widely held belief or opinion but influence those of different views.

More often than not in my opinion we do not see â€œthe bestâ€

Dustdevil · Post by **Dustdevil** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 11:10 pm

sun4all wrote:One thing that has really turned me off on Burning Man these past several years has been the all the Bush/Oil/War protest art.

p.s. I make and participate in Burning Man art!

Yeah! And no more of those oil derricks and all that wasted fuel and all that perchlorate into the soil!

p.s. I am only a spectator!

Toolmaker · Post by **Toolmaker** » Wed Nov 19, 2008 12:00 am

Dustdevil wrote:
sun4all wrote:One thing that has really turned me off on Burning Man these past several years has been the all the Bush/Oil/War protest art.

p.s. I make and participate in Burning Man art!

Yeah! And no more of those oil derricks and all that wasted fuel and all that perchlorate into the soil!

p.s. I am only a spectator!

Crude Awakening is still the coolest thing I have ever seen in my life.

Dustdevil · Post by **Dustdevil** » Wed Nov 19, 2008 7:53 am

Thank you TM,

BTW, if you take a close look at your 3rd picture, you will note that the far right BLEVE cannon failed to ignite at the time the shutter closed. In the video it is truly amazing to watch the fire burn back down to the cannon. I have a blow up of a similar shot that is almost 6' tall.

Jack

Post by **Elderberry** » Wed Nov 19, 2008 9:08 am

I would have to agree re: Crude Awakening. Awesome.

JK

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Wed Nov 19, 2008 10:02 am

I guess that only liberals make art, and conservatives just complain about how many artists are liberals. Guess you need to make your own art, cowboy!

littleflower · Post by **littleflower** » Wed Nov 19, 2008 12:41 pm

there are conservative artists, but they aren't necessarily interested in political art ... being, as they are, more cynical about government and its role in our lives, regardless of who is in charge.

Simon of the Playa · Post by **Simon of the Playa** » Thu Nov 20, 2008 7:16 am

http://images.burningman.com/index.cgi? ... sh&q_year=

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Thu Nov 20, 2008 8:29 am

littleflower wrote:there are conservative artists, but they aren't necessarily interested in political art ... being, as they are, more cynical about government and its role in our lives, regardless of who is in charge.

Is that your understanding of the conservative mindset?

littleflower · Post by **littleflower** » Thu Nov 20, 2008 8:57 am

when it come to political art ... yes, pretty much. political art is generally about change, and conservatives are skeptical of change that is created by politicians ... politics is more a necessary evil, rather than something to be celebrated.

my own problem with a lot of protest/propaganda art that is created to "make people think" is that it rarely does, way too much of it strikes me as shallow and insipid ... and much of it is offensive to conservatives, as well ... insults do not attract people to ideas, they turn people away.

that said, i love art, and am always looking at stuff, political or otherwise ... and i admire anything clever, even if i disagree with it. for my own stuff, though, i have other areas to focus on.

the "conservative mindset", however, is not so easy to put into a sentence or two ... and has little to do with art anyhow...

Post by **Elderberry** » Thu Nov 20, 2008 9:10 am

littleflower wrote:
my own problem with a lot of protest/propaganda art that is created to "make people think" is that it rarely does, way too much of it strikes me as shallow and insipid ... and much of it is offensive to conservatives, as well ... insults do not attract people to ideas, they turn people away.

It only turns stupid people away--people that think usually get it. (even though they may not like it)

Here's something else--just to offend the conservatives!

JK

littleflower · Post by **littleflower** » Thu Nov 20, 2008 9:29 am

JK ...it does not surprise me that you would find great depth in something i find insipid.

as i said ... i look at a lot of stuff, likely FAR more than you, and appreciate anything clever. but much of it comes from 20-30 somethings saying stuff that has been said about a million times ... their usual MO is to make everything increasingly shocking, in order to make it look new. if it means something to you, great ... whatever ...

Arminius · Post by **Arminius** » Thu Nov 20, 2008 6:05 pm

I'm a conservative and an artist. The most offensive thing about the infamous Piss Christ image to me is that it was purchased with tax dollars.
I wonder how people would react to federal funds being used for images of people pissing on the Koran? Or somebody taking a shit on a rainbow flag?

The first amendment gives you the right to be to an asshole. But that doesn't make religious hate art any prettier than racism.

Burning a cross, constructing a swastika mobile, or placing someones religious symbol in jar of urine may be self expression. But to go as far as calling it art lowers the standards of art to level of the Special Olympics.

Christian bashing is so 80's. That kind of lame expression is the 8 track tape of the art world.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Thu Nov 20, 2008 6:22 pm

Wikepedia, with all it's problems and virtues as a source wrote:Sister Wendy Beckett, an art critic and Catholic nun, stated in a television interview with Bill Moyers that she regarded the work as not blasphemous but a statement on "what we have done to Christ" - that is, the way contemporary society has come to regard Christ and the values he represents

Maybe it does reduce art to the special olympics, but I don't think so. The problem is that if you don't have art that goes a little too far, all you have is safe art. Safe art is bland. Meaningless. On some level not even art, if it doesn't make you thing. Whatever else you want to say about Piss Christ, just about everyone has an opinion on it. Which makes it a powerful motivator. I hate a lot of the sensationalism of the avant guarde, I think that it ends up with too much art that panders to a few new york critics, and that needs an artist's statement, so you know that the artist has an mfa and isn't someone's six year old. Yet, I want that out there. I want that spirit of adventurism, that idea that art is something than comes from somewhere besides copying the work of the old masters.

How many people in this thread can name a piece of art that doesn't offend someone else in this thread?

And how can not going too far at least sometimes be in the spirit of the best of burningman?

I won't miss the Bush/Oil/War protest art!

I won't miss the Bush/Oil/War protest art!

Re: I won't miss the Bush/Oil/War protest art!

Political Art

Re: I won't miss the Bush/Oil/War protest art!

Re: I won't miss the Bush/Oil/War protest art!