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May 13, 2022·edited May 13, 2022Liked by Beautiful Eccentrics

I always love your writing even when I sometimes disagree but altho all you write is true in an ideal world, what is left out are questions of access and privilege. Relatively few people who identify as artists can both attend the "party" and have adequate studio time. In most cases that's a question of access to time and money. Increasingly, particularly in this country, that's restricted to a class of the privileged that has nothing to do with talent or will to do conscientious research.

Speaking as an artist who was pushed out of NYC by costs, couldn't get a regular teaching job, has health and age disabilities, I resist this prescription for research that conflates historical success, visiiblity and material stability with careerist value. When I was a young artist in NYC, everything you describe was available: cheap housing and a job were a given making everything else possible. That is no longer true. I can't help being grateful for the internet. It is an inadequate platform for research and one that wasn't mentioned. And my experience of limitation is a pale version of what single mothers for example face- a group that will undoubtedly explode after the Row vs Wade battle is won by fascist fanatics.

The decentralization of the artworld redefines how any of us can and must do research. What is within walking distance for example in Manhattan during prime time is just not an option for many, many terrific artists and THAT's a problem. I think the emphasis should be less on what the privileged must do to refine their practice and perhaps more, on how we can make access more equitable, to include value that goes beyond the flavor of the day amongst the elite.

The artworld always reflects the greater culture. In this case, the criteria to engage in the artworld you have described is a gross exaggeration of the grotesque privilege and entitlement of a small group we see reflected in the tragic income disparities that are escalating worldwide. My suggestion is that you take into account how the present culture of privilege has become an ever more insurmountable gatekeeper for artists to participate in the research you describe over the past fifty years. In fact, without that caveat, I think research can only reinforce the status quo that we as artists are always tasked to question.

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May 13, 2022Liked by Beautiful Eccentrics

Muy lindo ensayo Pablo!

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May 12, 2022Liked by Beautiful Eccentrics

In this often chaotic mass of opinions on art I always find your essays to be intelligent and to the point. As an artist of nearly 80 I have navigated many dubious roads, often without like-minded individuals with whom to converse about this strange world of making things. Thank you for your writings.

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