Inspiration: the art of Jimmie Durham
It's always nice when amazing art jumps out at you, like recently when leafing the pages of the Nation above an article by Barry Schwabsky, I came across the conceptual art of stoning a refrigerator by "postmodernist savage" Jimmie Durham from 1996 redone here, by yours truly. Apparently, in addition to the picture, it's the stoned refrigerator which is the art.
Arkansas-born Durham was for years a political organizer with the American Indian Movement, before moving to Mexico and then Europe. One of my favorite quotes, which he gave to Manuel Cirauqui was published in the Bombsite magazine.
"I like interruptions, of any kind, especially from my own life, because we have such a tendency–something stronger than a tendency, actually–to do the same things all the time. (Pauses as chairs are moved noisily in the background). Kierkegaard wrote about repetition as the greatest human good, because it was close to holiness. Yet to me it is so strange that I do the same thing over and over, that I take the same route to the grocery store or when I walk home–it’s intolerable. I want interruptions, I want things to be different all the time.”
Above more of his apparent smashing on video.
And here's the link to a video last month, which promotes his current exhibition 'JIMMIE DURHAM A Matter of Life and Death and Singing'.
I liked reading your comments on Durham, along with your favorite quote, after I tried to read the Nation article, which I found elaborately senseless, stupidly intellectual. I'm an artist; I like the stoned fridge; I like the photo of Durham stoning the fridge... but the review made me almost dislike it all. I wonder if you found the review more worthwhile? No need to reply, but if you have any thoughts, my contact info is at www.jimmott.com. Merci.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment! I actually wasnt able to read the Nation article, but I loved the picture they had of stoning the fridge. And I'm happy they wrote about Durham whom I had never heard of. I find that Youtube video one of the best Ive ever seen. One of my friends, who is an art journalist, recently met Durham in Berlin. She seemed to say he is now like a Hollywood star, but that he's kept his fighting spirit.
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